LED lamps with improved quality of light

ABSTRACT

LED lamp systems having improved light quality are disclosed. The lamps emit more than 500 lm and more than 2% of the power in the spectral power distribution is emitted within a wavelength range from about 390 nm to about 430 nm.

This application is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser.No. 14/310,957, now allowed, filed on Jun. 20, 2014, which is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/886,547 filed onMay 3, 2013, which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/642,984 filed on May 4, 2012, and U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/783,888 filed on Mar. 14, 2013; and thisapplication is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No.14/040,379 filed on Sep. 27, 2013, which is a continuation-in-part ofU.S. application Ser. No. 13/931,359 filed on Jun. 28, 2013, whichclaims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 61/778,002 filed on Mar. 12, 2013; and U.S. applicationSer. No. 14/040,379 is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.12/936,238 filed on Jul. 29, 2011, which is a national stage entry ofPCT International Application No. PCT/US2010/49531 filed on Sep. 20,2010, which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/243,988 filed on Sep. 18, 2009; and thisapplication is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No.13/211,145 filed on Aug. 11, 2011, which claims the benefit under 35U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/502,212 filed onJun. 28, 2011, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/375,097, filed onAug. 19, 2010, each of which is incorporated by reference in itsentirety.

FIELD

The disclosure relates to the field of general lighting with lightemitting diode (LED) lamps and more particularly to techniques for LEDlamps with an improved quality of light.

BACKGROUND

Due to the limited efficacy of common light sources, there is a need forhigh-efficiency LED sources for general lighting. In the recent past,technical progress has enabled LED-based lamps to provide enoughluminous flux to replace general illumination sources in the 40 W rangeand beyond, for example, lamps emitting 500 lm and beyond. There is astrong push to keep increasing the lumen output of LED-based lamps whilealso improving the quality of the light they generate. Therefore, thereis a need for improved approaches.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, techniques for LED lamps with improved quality of light aredisclosed whereby the following configurations, systems and methods canbe embodied.

In a first aspect, LED lamps are provided comprising an LED device,wherein the LED lamp is characterized by a luminous flux of more than500 lm, and a spectral power distribution (SPD) in which more than 2% ofthe radiometric optical power is emitted within a wavelength range fromabout 390 nm to about 430 nm.

In a second aspect, LED-based lamps are provided characterized by aluminous flux of more than 500 lm, wherein the lamp comprises one ormore LED source die having a light emitting surface area of less than 29mm².

In a third aspect, light sources are provided comprising a plurality oflight emitting diodes (LEDs), for which at least 2% of an SPD is in arange 390 nm to 430 nm, and such that an International Commission onIllumination (CIE) whiteness of a high-whiteness reference sampleilluminated by the light source is within −20 points to +40 points of aCIE whiteness of the same sample under illumination by a CIE referenceilluminant of the same correlated color temperature (CCT) (respectively,a blackbody radiator if CCT<5000K or a D illuminant if CCT>5000K).

In a fourth aspect, light sources are provided comprising LEDs, forwhich at least 2% of an SPD is in a range about 390 nm to about 430 nm,and such that a CIE whiteness of a high-whiteness reference sampleilluminated by the light source is within −20 points to +40 points of aCIE whiteness of the same sample under illumination by a ceramic metalhalide illuminant of the same CCT.

In a fifth aspect, light sources are provided comprising a plurality oflight emitting diodes (LEDs) wherein light emitted by the light sourceis characterized by a spectral power distribution in which at least 2%of the radiometric optical power is in a wavelength range from about 390nm to about 430 nm, and a chromaticity of a high-whiteness referencesample illuminated by the source that is at least two Duv points and atmost twelve Duv points away from a chromaticity of a white point of thelight source, and the chromaticity shift is substantially toward theblue direction of the color space.

In a sixth aspect, light sources are provided comprising a plurality oflight emitting diodes (LEDs) wherein light emitted by the light sourceis characterized by a spectral power distribution in which at least 2%of the radiometric optical power is in a wavelength range from about 390nm to about 430 nm, and wherein the spectral power distribution has acolor gamut Qg of at least 110 and a color fidelity Qf of at least 80.

In a seventh aspect, light sources are provided comprising a pluralityof light emitting diodes (LEDs) wherein light emitted by the lightsource is characterized by a spectral power distribution in which atleast 2% of the radiometric optical power is in a wavelength range fromabout 390 nm to about 430 nm, and wherein the spectral powerdistribution has a CCT between 3300K and 5300K and a cyanosisobservation index below 3.3.

In an eighth aspect, optical devices are disclosed comprisingsubstrate-emitting vertically-conducting high current density LEDincluding a bulk GaN substrate, an n-Type (Al)(In)GaN epitaxiallayer(s), a plurality of doped and/or undoped (Al)(In)GaN active regionlayers, a p-Type (Al)(In)GaN epitaxial layer(s), a reflective p-typecontact, and an n-type contact.

In a ninth aspect, optical devices are disclosed comprising an LED whosepeak emission is in the range of about 405 nm to 430 nm, provided on asubstrate or submount, the LED emission pumping blue-, red-, andgreen-emitting phosphors adapted to emit white light, the phosphorsbeing disposed in an encapsulant which is substantially transparent toboth pump-LED source and phosphor-emitted light.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Those skilled in the art will understand that the drawings, describedherein, are for illustration purposes only. The drawings are notintended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1A is a graph showing a comparison of SPDs of a blackbody and aconventional LED lamp, using blue pump LEDs and two phosphors, with thesame CCT of 3000K and having an equal luminous flux for comparing to LEDlamps with improved quality of light, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 1B is a graph showing a comparison of the SPD of a referenceilluminant and a conventional LED lamp, using blue pump LEDs and onephosphor, with the same CCT of 6500K and an equal luminous flux forcomparing to LED lamps with improved quality of light, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 2A is a picture showing two reddish objects evidencing metamerismunder illumination by a conventional LED source with a 2700K CCT forcomparison with LED lamps for improved quality of light.

FIG. 2B is a sketch of FIG. 2A which shows two reddish objectsevidencing metamerism under illumination by a conventional LED sourcewith a 2700K CCT for comparison with LED lamps with improved quality oflight.

FIG. 3 is a graph showing the details of the short-wavelength SPDdiscrepancy (SWSD) between a conventional LED and a blackbody with thesame CCT of 3000K and the same luminous flux for comparing LED lampswith improved quality of light, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing the total radiance factor of a sample of whitepaper with optical brightening agents (OBAs) for an incandescent sourceand a conventional LED source, both with a 3000K CCT, for comparing toLED lamps with improved quality of light, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 5A depicts a halogen MR-16 bulb with an extended source areaprovided by a reflector cup boundary used in a system for LED lamps forcomparing to LED lamps with improved quality of light, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 5B depicts a multiple-source LED bulb with an extended source areaprovided by lamps with improved quality of light, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 6 depicts an experimental set-up to measure cast shadows forcomparing LED lamps with improved quality of light, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 7 depicts a graph showing relative luminous flux across a projectedshadow vs. angle for a conventional LED-based MR-16 lamp for comparingto LED lamps with improved quality of light, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 8 is a sketch of an MR-16 lamp body embodiment as used in LED lampswith improved quality of light, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 9A is a chart showing a comparison of modeled SPDs of a blackbodyand an LED lamp with improved quality of light, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 9B is a chart showing a comparison of SPDs of various illuminantswith a CCT of 3000K for comparing against lamps with improved quality oflight, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 10 is a chart showing a comparison of SPDs of a referenceilluminant and an LED lamp with improved quality of light, according tosome embodiments.

FIG. 11 is a chart showing the short-wavelength SPD discrepancy (SWSD)between a blackbody radiator and certain embodiments, both with a CCT of3000K as a function of the SPD violet fraction for comparing LED lampswith improved quality of light, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 12 is a chart showing the SWSD between a D65 illuminant andembodiments of the present disclosure, both with a CCT of 6500K, as afunction of the SPD violet fraction for comparing LED lamps withimproved quality of light, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 13A is a picture showing two reddish objects under illumination bya conventional LED source and by a particular configuration, both with a2700K CCT.

FIG. 13B is a sketch of FIG. 13A showing two reddish objects underillumination by a conventional LED source, and by a particularconfiguration, both with a 2700K CCT.

FIG. 14 is a chart showing the total radiance factor of a sample ofwhite paper with optical brightening agents (OBAs) for an incandescentsource and a selected embodiment, both with a 3000K CCT for comparingLED lamps with improved quality of light, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 15 is a chart showing the CIE whiteness of calculated sources witha 6500K CCT for comparisons of LED lamps with improved quality of light,according to some embodiments.

FIG. 16A is a chart showing the CIE whiteness of calculated sources witha 3000K CCT for comparisons of LED lamps with improved quality of light,according to some embodiments.

FIG. 16B is a chart showing the CCT-corrected whiteness of sources witha 3000K CCT for comparisons of LED lamps with improved quality of light,according to some embodiments.

FIG. 17 is a chart showing the relative luminous flux across a projectedshadow vs. angle for a conventional LED-based MR-16 lamp and anembodiment of the present disclosure for comparisons of LED lamps withimproved quality of light, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 18A is a picture of multiple shadows cast by a hand underillumination by a conventional LED lamp with multiple light sources.

FIG. 18B is a picture showing a shadow cast by a hand under illuminationby an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 19A1 and FIG. 19A2 depict an MR-16 form factor lamp with anintegrated light source used in LED lamps with improved quality oflight, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 19B depicts a PAR30 form factor lamp used in LED lamps withimproved quality of light, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 19C1 and FIG. 19C2 depict an AR111 form factor lamp for use withLED lamps with improved quality of light, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 19D1 and FIG. 19D2 depict a PAR38 form factor lamp for use with LEDlamps with improved quality of light, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 20 is a chart that indicates the center beam candle powerrequirements for 50-watt equivalent MR-16 lamps as a function of thebeam angle.

FIG. 21 is a chart showing the experimentally-measured CCT-correctedwhiteness of various objects illuminated by various illuminants forcomparison to of LED lamps with improved quality of light, according tosome embodiments.

FIG. 22 is a chart showing the (x,y) color space coordinates of a highwhiteness reference standard illuminated by various sources with a 3000KCCT for comparison to LED lamps with improved quality of light,according to some embodiments.

FIG. 23 is a chart showing the experimental SPD of an LED lamp withimproved quality of light, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 24 is a chart showing the gamut for a black body radiator with acorrelated color temperature (CCT) of 3000K for comparison with LEDlamps with improved quality of light.

FIG. 25 shows the diagram as FIG. 24 where an exemplary increased gamutis also shown for comparison.

FIG. 26A shows an example of a spectrum with an increased overall gamut,according to some embodiments.

FIG. 26B is a chart showing the CIELAB color space and the position ofvarious colored objects illuminated by a reference source forming areference gamut and the spectrum of FIG. 26A forming an increased gamut,for comparison.

FIG. 27A is a chart showing the calculated SPD of an LED lamp having anincreased gamut, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 27B is a chart showing the corresponding gamut for comparison.

FIG. 28A is a chart showing the calculated SPD of an LED lamp having anincreased gamut, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 28B is a chart showing the corresponding gamut for comparison.

FIG. 29A is a chart showing the calculated SPD of an LED lamp having anincreased gamut, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 29B is a chart showing the corresponding gamut for comparison.

FIG. 30A is a chart showing the calculated SPD of an LED lamp having anincreased gamut, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 30B is a chart showing the corresponding gamut for comparison.

FIG. 31A is a chart showing the calculated SPD of an LED lamp having anincreased gamut, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 31B is a chart showing the corresponding gamut for comparison.

FIG. 32A is a chart showing the calculated SPD of an LED lamp having anincreased gamut, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 32B is a chart showing the corresponding gamut for comparison.

FIG. 33A is a chart showing the calculated SPD of an LED lamp having anincreased gamut, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 33B is a chart showing the corresponding gamut for comparison.

FIG. 34 is a chart showing a spectrum designed to obtain a CCT of 4000Kand a low COI, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 35A is a chart showing the calculated SPD of an LED lamp having anincreased gamut, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 35B is a chart showing the CIELAB color space and the position ofvarious colored objects illuminated by a reference source forming areference gamut and the spectrum of FIG. 26A forming an increased gamutfor comparison.

FIG. 35C is a chart showing the CIELUV (u′v′) color space and thechromaticities of a reference illuminant and of the spectrum of FIG. 35Afor comparison.

FIG. 36 shows a spot lamp such as an MR-16, composed of a base/driver,an LED source, an optical lens and a heatsink, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 37 is similar to FIG. 36 but here the filter is placed on top ofthe lens, either by coating the lens itself, or by attaching anaccessory filter to the lens, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 38 shows a light bulb such as an A-lamp, composed of a base driver,a pedestal, an LED source and a bulb, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 39 shows a filter placed around the LED source, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 40 shows a filter placed on the bulb, either on its inside surfaceor on its outside surface, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 41A shows a filter placed at an intermediate position inside thebulb, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 41B shows a 3-way bulb with a screw-in socket, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 41C shows a 3-way bulb with two filament-like LED sources,according to some embodiments.

FIG. 41D shows a filter placed at an intermediate position inside thebulb, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 41E shows a filter placed at an intermediate position inside thebulb, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 42 shows a sample plot of relative luminous flux as a function ofinjection current for a conventional LED and a Cree XP-E white LED withjunction temperature of 25° C.

FIG. 43 shows two types of variations in the external quantum efficiencyas a function of current density

FIG. 44 illustrates quantum efficiency plotted against current densityfor LED devices according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 45 is a diagram of a high current density epitaxially grown LEDstructure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 46 is a flow diagram of a method for fabricating an improved GaNfilm according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 47 is a diagram illustrating a high current density LED structurewith electrical connections according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 48 is a diagram of a substrate-emitting lateral conducting highcurrent density LED device according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 49 is a diagram of a substrate-emitting vertically conducting highcurrent density LED according to a specific embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 50A is an example of a packaged white LED containing a high currentdensity LED device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 50B is diagram showing pulsed output power vs. current density andexternal quantum efficiency vs. current density for an LED according toone or more embodiments.

FIG. 51 is a diagram showing pulsed output power vs. current density andexternal quantum efficiency vs. current density for an LED, according toone or more embodiments.

FIG. 52 through FIG. 54 are experimental results for LED devices,according to one or more embodiments.

FIG. 55 illustrates the efficiency characteristics of LEDs emitting atvarious wavelengths, according to one or more embodiments.

FIG. 56 and FIG. 57 illustrate absorption properties of blue phosphorsand the corresponding white LED performance depending on the emissionwavelength of the LED, according to one or more embodiments.

FIG. 58 illustrates an embodiment of the disclosure where an LED withpeak emission is in the range of about 405-430 nm pumps blue-, red-, andgreen-emitting phosphors.

FIG. 59A and FIG. 59B illustrate carrier spreading in multi-quantum wellLEDs emitting at 450 nm and 420 nm, respectively, according to one ormore embodiments.

FIG. 60 illustrates an embodiment of the disclosure where five pump LEDsare arranged in an array, according to one or more embodiments.

FIG. 61 illustrates an embodiment of the disclosure where the pump LEDsare arranged in an array, and the phosphor composition is variedspatially in a pixelated configuration, according to one or moreembodiments.

FIG. 62 illustrates an embodiment of the disclosure where the pump LEDsare arranged in an array, and two LED emission wavelengths are employed,according to one or more embodiments.

FIG. 63A and FIG. 63B are diagrams illustrating the emission spectrum ofa two-phosphor violet pumped white LED according to embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 64A through FIG. 64I depict embodiments of the present disclosurein the form of lamp applications.

FIG. 65A1 through FIG. 65I depict embodiments of the present disclosureas can be applied toward lighting applications.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The term “phosphors” as used herein means any compositions ofwavelength-converting materials.

The acronym “CCT” refers to the correlated color temperature.

The acronym “SPD” as used herein means the spectral power distributionof a spectrum (e.g., its distribution of spectral power vs. wavelength).

The acronym “FWHM” as used herein means full-width at half maximum of anSPD.

The acronym “OBA” as used herein refers to an optical brightening agent(OBA), a substance which absorbs light in a wavelength range and emitslight in another wavelength range to increase perceived whiteness.Typically conversion occurs from the ultraviolet-violet range to theblue range.

The acronym “SWSD” as used herein refers to a short-wavelength SPDdiscrepancy, a metric to quantify the discrepancy between two SPDs inthe short-wavelength range. This metric is defined further in theapplication.

The term “total radiance factor” as used herein refers to the ratio ofthe radiation reflected and emitted from a body to that reflected from aperfect reflecting diffuser under the same conditions of illuminationand detection.

The term “Duv” as used herein refers to the chromaticity differencebetween two color points of color coordinates (u′1,v′1) and (u′2,v′2),and is defined as:Duv=1000·√{square root over ((u′1−u′2)²+(v′1−v′2)²)}{square root over((u′1−u′2)²+(v′1−v′2)²)}

The term “violet leak” as used herein refers to the fraction of an SPDin the range 390 nm to 430 nm.

The term “CCT-corrected whiteness” as used herein refers to ageneralization of the CIE whiteness formula applicable to CCTs otherthan 6500K.

The term “high whiteness reference sample” as used herein refers to acommercially available whiteness standard whose nominal CIE whiteness isabout 140, as further described herein.

The term “large-sample set CRI” as used herein refers to ageneralization of the color rendering index where the color-errorcalculation is averaged over a large number of samples rather than eightsamples, as further described herein.

The term “gamut” as used herein refers to the area encompassed by thechromaticity coordinates of a set of color samples when plotted in acolor space such as CIELAB. The term Qf as used herein refers to aspecific calculation of a color fidelity as implemented in the ColorQuality Scale 9.0 framework.

The term “Qg” as used herein refers to a specific calculation of a gamutarea, as implemented in the Color Quality Scale 9.0 framework.

Wavelength conversion materials can be ceramic or semiconductor particlephosphors, ceramic or semiconductor plate phosphors, organic orinorganic downconverters, upconverters (anti-stokes), nanoparticles, andother materials which provide wavelength conversion. Some examples arelisted below:

-   -   (Sr_(n),Ca_(1-n))₁₀(PO₄)₆*B₂O₃:Eu²⁺ (wherein 0≦n≦1)    -   (Ba,Sr,Ca)₅(PO₄)₃(Cl,F,Br,OH):Eu²⁺,Mn²⁺    -   (Ba,Sr,Ca)BPO₅:Eu²⁺,Mn²⁺    -   Sr₂Si₃O₈*2SrCl₂:Eu²⁺    -   (Ca,Sr,Ba)₃MgSi₂O₈:Eu²⁺, Mn²⁺    -   BaAl₈O₁₃:Eu²⁺    -   2SrO*0.84P₂O₅*0.16B₂O₃:Eu²⁺    -   (Ba,Sr,Ca)MgAl₁₀O₁₇:Eu²⁺,Mn²⁺    -   K₂SiF₆:Mn⁴⁺    -   (Ba,Sr,Ca)Al₂O₄:Eu²⁺    -   (Y,Gd,Lu,Sc,La)BO₃:Ce³⁺,Tb³⁺    -   (Ba,Sr,Ca)₂(Mg,Zn)Si₂O₇:Eu²⁺    -   (Mg,Ca,Sr, Ba,Zn)₂Si_(1-x)O_(4-2x):Eu²⁺ (wherein 0≦x≦0.2)    -   (Ca, Sr, Ba)MgSi₂O₆:Eu²⁺    -   (Sr,Ca,Ba)(Al,Ga)₂S₄:Eu²⁺    -   (Ca,Sr)₈(Mg,Zn)(SiO₄)₄Cl₂:Eu²⁺,Mn²⁺    -   Na₂Gd₂B₂O₇:Ce³⁺,Tb³⁺    -   (Sr,Ca,Ba,Mg,Zn)₂P₂O₇:Eu²⁺,Mn²⁺    -   (Gd,Y,Lu,La)₂O₃:Eu³⁺,Bi³⁺    -   (Gd,Y,Lu,La)₂O₂S:Eu³⁺,Bi³⁺    -   (Gd,Y,Lu,La)VO₄:Eu³⁺,Bi³⁺    -   (Ca,Sr)S:Eu²⁺,Ce³⁺    -   (Y,Gd,Tb,La,Sm,Pr,Lu)₃(Sc,Al,Ga)_(5-n)O_(12-3/2n):Ce³⁺ (wherein        0≦n≦0.5)    -   ZnS:Cu⁺,Cl—    -   (Y,Lu,Th)₃Al₅O₁₂:Ce³⁺    -   ZnS:Cu⁺,Al³⁺    -   ZnS:Ag⁺,Al³⁺    -   ZnS:Ag⁺,Cl⁻    -   The group:        -   Ca_(1-x)Al_(x-xy)Si_(1-x+xy)N_(2-x-xy)C_(xy):A        -   Ca_(1-x-z)Na_(z)M(III)_(x-xy-z)Si_(1-x+xy z)N_(2-x-xy)C_(xy):A        -   M(II)_(1-x-z)M(I)_(z)M(III)_(x-xy-z)Si_(1-x+xy+z)N_(2-x-xy)C_(xy):A        -   M(II)_(1-x-z)M(I)_(z)M(III)_(x-xy-z)Si_(1-x+xy+z)N_(2-x-xy-2w/3)C_(xy)O_(w-v/2)H_(v):A        -   M(II)_(1-x-z)M(I)_(z)M(III)_(x-xy-z)Si_(1-x+xy+z)N_(2-x-xy-2w/3-v/3)            C_(xy)O_(w)H_(v):A        -   wherein 0<x<1, 0<y<1, 0≦z<1, 0≦v<1, 0<w<1, x+z<1, x>xy+z,            and 0<x-xy-z<1, M(II) is at least one divalent cation, M(I)            is at least one monovalent cation, M(III) is at least one            trivalent cation, H is at least one monovalent anion, and A            is a luminescence activator doped in the crystal structure.    -   LaAl(Si_(6-z)Al_(z))(N_(10-z)O_(z)):Ce³⁺ (wherein z=1)    -   (Ca, Sr) Ga₂S₄:Eu²⁺    -   AlN:Eu²⁺    -   SrY₂S₄:Eu²⁺    -   CaLa₂S₄:Ce³⁺    -   (Ba,Sr,Ca)MgP₂O₇:Eu²⁺,Mn²⁺    -   (Y,Lu)₂WO₆:Eu³⁺,Mo⁶⁺    -   CaWO₄    -   (Y,Gd,La)₂O₂S:Eu³⁺    -   (Y,Gd,La)₂O₃:Eu³⁺    -   (Ba,Sr,Ca)_(n)Si_(n)N_(n):Eu²⁺ (where 2n+4=3n)    -   Ca₃(SiO₄)Cl₂:Eu²⁺    -   (Y,Lu,Gd)_(2-n)Ca_(n)Si₄N_(6+n)C_(1-n):Ce³⁺, (wherein 0≦n≦0.5)    -   (Lu,Ca,Li,Mg,Y) alpha-SiAlON doped with Eu²⁺ and/or Ce³⁺    -   (Ca,Sr,Ba)SiO₂N₂:Eu²⁺,Ce³⁺    -   Ba₃MgSi₂O₈:Eu²⁺,Mn²⁺    -   (Sr,Ca)AlSiN₃:Eu²⁺    -   CaAlSi(ON)₃:Eu²⁺    -   Ba₃MgSi₂O₈:Eu²⁺    -   LaSi₃N₅:Ce³⁺    -   Sr₁₀(PO₄)₆Cl₂:Eu²⁺    -   (BaSi)O₁₂N₂:Eu²⁺    -   M(II)_(a)Si_(b)O_(c)N_(d)Ce:A wherein (6<a<8,        8<b<14,13<c<17,5<d<9,0<e<2) and M(II) is a divalent cation of        (Be,Mg,Ca,Sr,Ba,Cu,Co,Ni,Pd,Tm,Cd) and A of        (Ce,Pr,Nd,Sm,Eu,Gd,Tb,Dy,Ho,Er,Tm,Yb,Lu,Mn,Bi,Sb)    -   SrSi₂(O, Cl)₂N₂:Eu²⁺    -   SrSi₉Al₁₉ON₃₁:Eu²⁺    -   (Ba,Sr)Si₂(O,Cl)₂N₂:Eu²⁺    -   LiM₂O₈:Eu³⁺ where M=(W or Mo)

For purposes of the application, it is understood that when a phosphorhas two or more dopant ions (i.e., those ions following the colon in theabove phosphors), this is to mean that the phosphor has at least one(but not necessarily all) of those dopant ions within the material. Thatis, as understood by those skilled in the art, this type of notationmeans that the phosphor can include any or all of those specified ionsas dopants in the formulation.

Further, it is to be understood that nanoparticles, quantum dots,semiconductor particles, and other types of materials can be used aswavelength-converting materials. The list above is representative andshould not be taken to include all the materials that may be utilizedwithin the embodiments described herein.

Due to the limited efficacy of common light sources, there is a need forhigh-efficiency LED sources for general lighting. In the recent past,technical progress has enabled LED-based lamps to provide enoughluminous flux to replace general illumination sources in the 40 W rangeand beyond, e.g., lamps emitting 500 lm and beyond.

Such conventional LED lamps use pump LEDs emitting in the range 440 nmto 460 nm and a mix of phosphor to generate white light. The choice ofthese “blue pump” LEDs (e.g., around 450 nm) for use in conventional LEDlamps has in part been driven by the level of performance of such LEDs,which has made it possible to produce enough light (e.g., 500 lm) tosuffice for some general lighting applications.

There is a strong push to keep increasing the lumen output of LED-basedlamps, and also to improve the quality of the light they generate.

LED-based lamps are composed of several elements, including:

An LED source (or module) including LEDs and phosphors, which generatelight;

A lamp body to which the LED source is attached;

An optical lens or other optical element that redirects or diffuses thelight emitted by the LED source; and

An electrical power supply and circuitry (either external or integrated)for supplying power to the LED source.

Below are discussed some important limitations to the quality of lightemitted by conventional LED lamps. Some of these issues are related tothe use of blue pump LEDs, and some are related to the use of anextended LED light source and/or multiple LED light sources.

The color rendering index (CRI) is a recognized metric frequentlyemployed to assess the quality of a light source. It provides a metricpertaining to the ability of a light source to reproduce the colorrendering of a reference illuminant with the same correlated colortemperature (CCT). However, under a variety of scenarios, theaforementioned CRI fails at correctly describing color rendering.

Indeed, the CRI only approximately evaluates the similarity between anideal blackbody radiator and a light source in that the colors ofilluminated test color samples (TCS) are compared. These TCSs displaybroad reflection spectra with slow variations, therefore, sharpvariations in the spectral power distribution (SPD) of the source arenot penalized. The TCS tests do not pose a very stringent test in termsof color matching in that they are forgiving of spectral discrepancieswhich occur in a narrow range of wavelengths.

However, there exist situations where the human eye is sensitive tominute changes in SPD, for instance when looking at objects with lessregular reflection spectra, or objects whose reflection spectra are notclose to one of the CRI TCSs. In such cases, a discrepancy between theSPD of the blackbody and the source over a narrow wavelength range maybe perceived by an observer, and judged, as an inadequate colorrendering. Thus, the only way to really avoid illuminant metamerism isto match the SPD of a reference illuminant at all wavelengths.

FIG. 1A is a graph 1A00 showing a comparison of the SPDs of a blackbody102 and a conventional LED lamp 104, using blue pump LEDs and twophosphors, with the same CCT of 3000K and having an equal luminous fluxfor comparing to LED lamps with improved quality of light.

The compared SPDs of reference illuminants and conventional LEDs areshown in FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B, respectively for CCTs of 3000K and 6500K(for 3000K the reference is a blackbody 102, and for 6500K it is the D65illuminant 126). The SPD discrepancy is especially notable in theshort-wavelength range in that conventional LED sources employ blue pumpLEDs with a narrow spectrum centered around 450 nm, and phosphoremission at longer wavelengths, separated by the Stokes shift betweenphosphor excitation and emission. Therefore, their SPD is too intense inthe blue range 108 around 450 nm, too weak in the violet range 106, (390nm to 430 nm), and weak in the cyan range 110 (470 nm to 500 nm) due tothe Stokes shift.

FIG. 1B is a graph 1B00 showing a comparison of the SPD of a referenceilluminant (D65 illuminant 126) and a conventional LED lamp 104, usingblue pump LEDs and one phosphor, with the same CCT of 6500K and an equalluminous flux for comparing to LED lamps with improved quality of light.

As earlier described, at various CCTs, including the shown SPDs at6500K, discrepancy is especially notable in the short-wavelength rangein that conventional LED sources employ blue pump LEDs with a narrowspectrum centered around 450 nm, and phosphor emission at longerwavelengths, separated by the Stokes shift between phosphor excitationand emission.

Moreover, such discrepancies are not well described by the CRI. Indeed,recent academic research indicates that the color-matching functionsunderlying the CRI underestimate the sensitivity of the human eye in theshort-wavelength range (e.g., for violet, blue and cyan wavelengths).Therefore, the importance of matching a reference spectrum at shortwavelength is not properly described by the CRI, and little emphasis hasbeen put on this issue in conventional LED sources. Improving SPDmatching in this range can improve actual quality of light beyond whatthe CRI predicts.

FIG. 2A is a picture 2A00 showing two reddish objects evidencingmetamerism under illumination by a conventional LED source with a 2700KCCT for comparison with LED lamps with improved quality of light.

FIG. 2A shows two reddish fabrics which have the same color point underdaylight illumination. The picture is taken under illumination by a2700K conventional LED source. The color of the objects appear markedlydifferent, with object A (202) being more orange and object B (204)being more blue. This is a manifestation of metamerism (e.g., the effectthat two objects similar under a particular illuminant can appeardifferent under another illuminant). In some cases this is notdesirable. Here, as shown, the two fabrics are designed to match incolor, however under LED illumination they appear different (e.g., dueto human visual perception).

FIG. 2B is a sketch 2B00 of FIG. 2A which shows two reddish objectsevidencing metamerism under illumination by a conventional LED sourcewith a 2700K CCT for comparison with LED lamps with improved quality oflight.

FIG. 2B shows two fabrics which have the same color point under daylightillumination. As depicted by the sketch, the colors of the objectsappear markedly different—this is a manifestation of metamerism. In somecases this is not desirable. Here the two fabrics (object A 202 andobject B 204) are designed to match in color, but under certain LEDillumination conditions, they appear different.

To quantify SPD matching more accurately than the CRI, one could use theCRI method (comparison of color coordinates for a set of standards),however an alternative is to use a wider variety of standards, includingstandards with sharper reflectivity spectra and a larger gamut thangiven in the TCS in order to better sample details of the SPD.

Embodiments described herein generalize the CRI correspondence to alarger variety of standards. A large number of physically-realistic,random reflectance spectra can be simulated numerically. Such a spectracollection covers the entire color space. By using such methods (e.g.,one of the methods of Whitehead and Mossman), one can compute a largenumber of such spectra, for instance 10⁶ spectra, and use these spectrarather than the conventional TCS. The color error of each spectrum canbe calculated. Further, since many spectra correspond to similarcoordinates in color space (for instance in 1964 (uv) space), due tometamerism, the color space can be defined using discrete spectralcells, and the average color error in each cell of the color space canbe computed. Also, the color error can be averaged over all cells toyield a large-sample set CRI value. As further discussed herein, thistechnique is well-behaved; for example, different sets of random spectrayield a similar large-sample set CRI value (e.g., within about onepoint) for realistic LED spectra, and the large-sample set CRI valuedoes not depend significantly on the details of the discretization grid.By using this approach, a conventional LED lamp (having a CRI of about84) has a large-sample set CRI of only about 66, which is a much lowervalue. This indicates that by widening the CRI approach to a large setof samples (e.g., covering the entire color space), the estimation ofcolor rendering can be significantly improved. Quantitative analysisindicates that differences in estimation values are mainly due to theshort- and long-wavelength ends of the LED source spectrum wheredeparture from a blackbody SPD is pronounced.

Another straightforward way to estimate SPD discrepancy is to integratethe distance between the two SPDs over the visible wavelength range,weighted by proper response functions. For instance, one can choose thecone fundamentals S, L and M (the physiological response of the conereceptors in a human eye). The short-wavelength response S is especiallysensitive in the range of about 400 nm to about 500 nm, and is asuitable weighting function to quantify SPD discrepancy in this range.

Exemplary quantifications define the short-wavelength SPD discrepancy(SWSD) as:

${SWSD} = \frac{\int{{{{{BB}(\lambda)} - {{LED}(\lambda)}}} \cdot {S(\lambda)} \cdot {\mathbb{d}\lambda}}}{\int{{{BB}(\lambda)} \cdot {S(\lambda)} \cdot {\mathbb{d}\lambda}}}$

Here LED(λ) is the SPD of the LED source. BB(λ) is the SPD of areference illuminant with the same CCT and equal luminous flux. As iscustomary, the reference illuminant is a blackbody below 5000K, and aphase of CIE standard illuminant D otherwise. S(λ) is theshort-wavelength cone fundamental. Note that similar functions can bedefined for the other cone response functions L and M if one studies SPDdiscrepancies at longer wavelengths.

FIG. 3 is a graph 300 showing the details of the SWSD between aconventional LED and a blackbody with the same CCT of 3000K and the sameluminous flux for comparing LED lamps with improved quality of light. Asexpected, contributions to the discrepancy arise from the violet range106, the blue range 108 and cyan range 110.

Observers will recognize that in some applications, very vivid colorsare desired. In some such applications, color fidelity is less importantthan color saturation. Thus one does not seek a perfect match to ablackbody SPD but rather a SPD which will exacerbate colorsaturation/chromaticity. Again, this effect is not captured by CRIvalues.

While it is important for a lamp to properly render colors, therendering of white is especially crucial. These two criteria are notequivalent. Indeed, most white objects in everyday life display a highwhiteness thanks to the use of fluorescent species, commonly referred toas optical brightening agents (OBAs) or fluorescent whitening agents(FWAs). These OBAs absorb light in the ultraviolet/violet wavelengthrange and fluoresce in the blue range. Additional spectral contributionin the blue range is known to increase human perception of whiteness.Objects commonly containing OBAs include white paper, white fabrics, andwashing detergents.

As was shown in FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B, the SPD of a conventional LEDsource lacks any contribution in the violet and ultraviolet ranges.Therefore, OBA fluorescence is not excited and the perceived whitenessis decreased.

FIG. 4 is a graph 400 showing the total radiance factor of a sample ofwhite paper with optical brightening agents (OBAs) for an incandescentsource and a conventional LED source, both with a 3000K CCT, forcomparing LED lamps with improved quality of light.

FIG. 4 illustrates this by comparing the total radiance factors of asheet of white paper illuminated by a blackbody radiator (in practice, ahalogen lamp) and a conventional LED, with the same CCT of 3000K. Thetotal radiance factor represents the emitted light normalized by thesource SPD, and is composed of a reflection and of fluorescencecontributions. For the blackbody 102, a pronounced peak (e.g.,fluorescence peak 402) is observed around 430 nm (the total radiancefactor is higher than unity); this is due to fluorescence of OBAsexcited by ultraviolet and violet light. For the conventional LED lamp104, on the other hand, no fluorescence is excited and the totalradiance factor is simply equal to the reflectivity spectrum of thepaper sheet.

Various light sources are able to excite OBAs because their SPD containsviolet and ultraviolet light. Such light sources include certainincandescent and halogen sources, and certain ceramic metal halidesources.

In order to quantify this effect one can use the CIE whiteness, arecognized metric for whiteness evaluation. CIE whiteness is defined in“Paper and board—Determination of CIE whiteness, D65/10° (outdoordaylight)”, ISO International Standard 11475:2004E (2004).

Table 1 considers a commercially-available high-whiteness paperilluminated by various illuminants, and indicates the corresponding CIEwhiteness. In characterizing the reference illuminants, the presentedvalues assume no emissions below 360 nm (e.g., due to the presence of UVcutoff filters in the corresponding lamps). The whiteness underconventional blue-pumped LED illumination is significantly lower thanunder incandescent illumination. Note that, for a CCT of 3000K,whiteness values are always negative. This is due to the definition ofCIE whiteness, which uses a reference illuminant at 6500K. Therefore,absolute values of CIE whiteness are not indicative for CCTs other than6500K; however, relative changes in CIE whiteness are still indicativeof a change in whiteness rendering because they quantify the desiredcolor shift toward the blue, which enhances the perception of whiteness.Therefore, the 30-point difference in CIE whiteness between thereference illuminant and the LED is suggestive of a large difference inperceivable whiteness.

TABLE 1 CCT-corrected whiteness value for a 6500K illuminant. ReferenceLED 6500K 125 90 3000K −137 −165

Instead of directly employing the equation for CIE whiteness, which isdefined for a CCT of 6500K, one can also adapt the CIE whiteness formulato a source of a different CCT. This can be done throughknown-in-the-art mathematics considering the foundations of the CIEwhiteness formula. Exemplary mathematical treatments include aderivation of a formula similar to that of CIE whiteness but withmodified numerical coefficients, which is referred to herein using theterm “CCT-corrected whiteness”. CCT-corrected whiteness quantifies theblue-shift of objects containing OBAs under illumination; however sincethe CCT of the illuminant is taken into account when using theCCT-corrected whiteness formula, the resulting whiteness values arepositive, and absolute values are meaningful for any CCT.

Table 2 shows the CCT-corrected whiteness value for a 3000K illuminantover the same commercially-available paper as in the above discussionreferring to Table 1. As discussed, the absolute values of CCT-correctedwhiteness are meaningful as they reveal a large change in whitenessbetween the two illuminants.

TABLE 2 CCT-corrected whiteness value for a 3000K illuminant. CCTReference LED 3000K 113 86

In summary, the discussion above shows that conventional LEDs are unableto render whiteness in objects containing OBAs due to the lack of violetor UV radiation in their SPD.

Lamps generate shadows. The appearance of the shadows depends on theproperties of the lamp. In general an extended light source willgenerate damped, blurred shadows whereas a point-like light source willgenerate very sharp shadows. This is especially true when theilluminated object is located close to the lamp. It is easy to decreaseshadow sharpness (for instance by adding a reflector cup or a diffuserto the light source). On the other hand, there is no easy way to obtainsharp shadows from an extended source. Sharp shadows are desirable insome applications.

In order to be useful for general lighting, LED lamps need to deliver aminimum luminous flux. Due to limitations in power dissipation andsource efficiency, this is often achieved by placing several LED sourcesin a lamp fixture. These LED sources are distributed across the lamp,and therefore increase the source size and generate blurred shadows.This is also true for some incandescent sources such as halogen MR-16lamps, which use a large reflector cup.

FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B depict, respectively, a halogen MR-16 bulb 502 and amultiple-source LED MR-16 506 with an extended source area provided by areflector cup boundary 504. Of course, lamps consisting of multiplelight sources 506 (e.g., LEDs) produce multiple shadows which areconsidered undesirable since they tend to “pollute” an illuminated sceneand can distract observers. It is not possible to achieve asingle-shadow situation from a multi-source lamp unless the lamp isdistant from the illuminated objects. What is needed to improve thequality of shadows is a single-source with limited lateral extension(e.g., see FIG. 8).

FIG. 6 depicts an experimental set-up 600 to measure cast shadows forcomparing LED lamps with improved quality of light.

FIG. 6 describes an experimental setup which can be used to evaluate thesharpness of a shadow. A lamp 612 is located 90 cm away from a screen602, and the edge of an opaque object 604 is located at the center ofthe light beam 610, 10 cm away from the screen. The cast shadow isobserved from observation point 614 at a distance of 1.2 m and anobservation angle of 25 degrees. Also shown are a depiction of a fullshadow 606 and a depiction of a partial shadow 608. The full shadow 606corresponds to the area of the screen where no light impinges. Thepartial shadow 608 corresponds to the area of the screen where somelight impinges, and across which light intensity transitions from fullsignal to no signal.

FIG. 7 depicts a graph showing relative luminous flux across a projectedshadow vs. angle for a conventional LED-based MR-16 lamp for comparingto LED lamps with improved quality of light. The angular width of thepartial shadow region is less than 0.8 degrees. FIG. 7 shows across-section of the cast shadow in such an experiment. The luminousintensity shows a bright region 706, a full shadow region 702, and apartial shadow region 704. The sharpness of the shadow can be quantifiedby the angular width of the partial shadow region, 1 degree in thiscase. Here the source is a conventional LED MR-16 lamp, but a widevariety of LED-based and halogen MR-16 lamps show very similar results.

Finally, lamps with multiple LED sources sometimes employ LEDs ofdifferent color points; for instance, one of the sources may have aslightly bluer SPD and another slightly more red SPD, the averagereaching a desired SPD. In this case, the generated shadow is not onlyblurred, but also displays color variation which is not desirable. Thiscan be evaluated by measuring the (u′, v′) color coordinates indifferent parts of the partial shadow.

In addition to the metrics discussed previously, various other metricscan be used to characterize quality of light. Many of these metrics canbe classified in a broad category, such as fidelity or preference.

Fidelity metrics describe the ability of a light source to match thecolor rendering of a reference illuminant (such as a blackbody) and havealready been discussed above.

Preference metrics, such as the GAI and Qg, measure the ability of alight source at increasing the saturation of colors; this is commonlymeasured by considering the gamut of various objects in a color space,and comparing this gamut under illumination by a reference illuminantand the light source. Preference can be important in applications suchas retail, where consumers appreciate goods with saturated colors.

In general, a given desirable property of a light source can be obtainedby suitably designing its emission spectrum. However, for practicalenergy-efficient applications, such an enhancement must be enabled by atechnology which also allows sufficient efficiency such as highefficiency LEDs. Moreover, it is desirable to combine saturationenhancement with other features ensuring high quality of light. One suchfeature is a substantial presence of violet light in the spectrum. Forexample, earlier attempts suffered from a trade-off between efficiency,brightness and quality of light.

What is needed is an LED light source which can deliver sufficient fluxfor general illumination, and at the same time address some or all ofthe following issues: spectral matching to a reference SPD, goodwhiteness rendering, small LED source size, high color fidelity,increased gamut, and increased color contrast for specific objects orcolors.

The herein-disclosed configurations are LED-based lamps providing asufficient flux for general illumination and with improved light qualityover a standard LED-based lamp.

An exemplary embodiment is as follows: an MR-16 lamp including anoptical lens with a diameter of 30 mm, and an LED-based source formed ofviolet-emitting LEDs pumping three phosphors (e.g., a blue-, a green-and a red-emitting phosphor) such that 2% to 10% of the emitted power isin the range 390 nm to 430 nm. The lamp emits a luminous flux of atleast 500 lm. This high luminous flux is achieved due to the highefficacy of the aforementioned LEDs at high power density, which areable to emit more than 200 W/cm² at a current density of 200 A/cm² andat a junction temperature of 100° C. and higher.

FIG. 8 is a sketch 800 of an MR-16 lamp body embodiment as used in LEDlamps with improved quality of light. FIG. 8 shows an MR-16 lamp body804, an optical lens 802, and an LED source that includes violet pumpLEDs 808, and a phosphor mix 806 as used in LED lamps with improvedquality of light.

Depending on the details of the configuration, various embodiments mayaddress one or several of the issues described above.

In order to reduce the SPD discrepancy in the blue-violet range, oneneeds to modify the LED lamp's spectral power distribution. Thedisclosed configurations achieve this by including violet pump LEDs. Inan exemplary embodiment, these violet pump LEDs pump one blue phosphor.In some embodiments, the full-width at half maximum (FWHM) of the bluephosphor is more than 30 nm. In contrast to typical blue-pump LEDs(whose spectral FWHM is ˜20 nm), use of such a broad phosphor helpsmatch the target SPD of a blackbody.

FIG. 9A is a chart 9A00 showing a comparison of modeled SPDs of ablackbody and an LED lamp with improved quality of light (seeconfiguration 902). FIG. 9A compares the SPD of an embodiment to that ofa blackbody 102, both having a 3000K CCT and the same luminous flux.Compared to FIG. 1, the discrepancy is significantly reduced in theshort-wavelength range.

FIG. 9B is a chart 9B00 showing a comparison of SPDs of variousilluminants with a CCT of 3000K for comparing against lamps withimproved quality of light. FIG. 9B compares experimental SPDs ofilluminants with a CCT of 3000K. The illuminants are a halogen lamp 952,a conventional LED lamp 104, and three embodiments shown asconfiguration 956, configuration 958, and configuration 960, where theviolet leak is varied (with respective values of about 2%, 5% and 7%).

Embodiments with various violet leaks can be considered and optimizedfor a high CRI. For instance, the experiments have verified that anembodiment with about a 7% violet leak may have a CRI of about 95, an R9of about 95, and a large-sample set CRI of about 87. Other embodimentsmay lead to further improvements in these values.

FIG. 10 is a chart 1000 showing a comparison of SPDs of a referenceilluminant and an LED lamp with improved quality of light. FIG. 10 issimilar to FIG. 9A, but here the reference illuminant D65 126 is for a6500K CCT. The SPD dependence with respect to wavelength is also shownfor configuration 902.

FIG. 11 is a chart 1100 showing the short-wavelength SPD discrepancy(SWSD) between a blackbody radiator and configuration 1102 certainembodiments, both with a CCT of 3000K as a function of the SPD violetfraction for comparing LED lamps with improved quality of light. Thedashed line represents the value for a conventional LED-based source104.

FIG. 11 shows the SWSD of embodiments with a 3000K CCT as a function ofthe fraction of violet photons in the SPD. The SWSD is lower than for aconventional LED lamp 104 by a factor of two or more, depending on theviolet fraction. Thus the violet fraction may be optimized to minimizeSWSD, although other metrics may also be considered when choosing theviolet fraction.

FIG. 12 is a chart 1200 showing the short-wavelength SPD discrepancy(SWSD) between a D65 illuminant and embodiments of the presentdisclosure, configuration 902, both with a CCT of 6500K, as a functionof the SPD violet fraction for comparing LED lamps with improved qualityof light. The dashed line represents the value for a conventionalLED-based source 104. The violet fraction may be optimized to minimizeSWSD, although other metrics may also be considered when choosing theviolet fraction.

FIG. 13A is a picture 13A00 showing two reddish objects underillumination by a conventional LED source 104 and by a particularconfiguration 902, both with a 2700K CCT. The objects (object A 202 andobject B 204) are the same as depicted in FIG. 2A. Again, metamerism isapparent with the conventional LED source and the objects havingdifferent colors. With particular configuration of the embodiments asdisclosed herein, the color is nearly identical for both objects as itis under daylight illumination. FIG. 13A exemplifies how someembodiments of the disclosure can reduce metamerism and improve colorrendering.

FIG. 13B is a sketch 13B00 of FIG. 13A showing the two reddish objectsunder illumination by a conventional LED source 104, and by a particularconfiguration 902, both with a 2700K CCT. Note the indication of colordifference 1304 vs. no color difference 1302. Again, metamerism isapparent with the conventional LED source—the objects (object A 202 andobject B 204) appear to have different colors. On the other hand, whenilluminated with lamps following embodiments as disclosed herein, thecolor is nearly identical for both objects (which is similar toappearance under daylight illumination). FIG. 13B exemplifies how someembodiments of the disclosure can reduce metamerism and improve colorrendering.

In some embodiments, more than one phosphor in the blue-cyan range ispumped by the violet LED. In some embodiments, part of the blue emissioncomes from LEDs.

In order to improve the whiteness of objects containing OBAs, theLED-based source should emit a sufficient amount of light in theexcitation range of the OBAs. The noted configurations achieve this byincluding violet pump LEDs. In an exemplary embodiment, 2% to 15% of thepower of the resulting SPD is emitted in the range of 390 nm to 430 nm.In an exemplary embodiment, the violet LEDs pump one or severalphosphors emitting in the blue-cyan range.

FIG. 14 is a chart 1400 showing the total radiance factor of a sample ofwhite paper with optical brightening agents (OBAs) for an incandescentsource and a selected embodiment, both with a 3000K CCT for comparingLED lamps with improved quality of light.

FIG. 14 compares the experimental total radiance factors of a sheet ofcommercial white paper illuminated by a blackbody 102 radiator (inpractice, a halogen lamp), a conventional LED lamp 104, and anembodiment of the disclosure (configuration 902), all with the same CCTof 3000K. Unlike the conventional LED, the total radiance factor of theembodiment of the disclosure is similar to that of a blackbody source,due in part to the excitation of OBA fluorescence.

FIG. 15 is a chart 1500 showing the CIE whiteness of calculated sourceswith a 6500K CCT for comparisons of LED lamps with improved quality oflight.

FIG. 15 displays the modeled CIE whiteness of a paper sheet asilluminated by various embodiments of the disclosure (configuration902), where the amount of violet light in the SPD is varied. Theimprovement of whiteness can be significant. In this case, the CCT ofthe lamp is 6500K, in accordance with the definition of the CIEwhiteness equation. The dashed line shows the CIE whiteness for aconventional LED source 1102.

In addition to tuning CIE whiteness by changing the amount of violetleak, it is also possible to affect CIE whiteness by changing the peakwavelength of the violet peak in some embodiments of the disclosure. Forinstance, in some embodiments the violet peak may have a maximum at 410nm, 415 nm, or 420 nm. In general, OBAs have a soft absorption edgearound 420 nm to 430 nm, so an embodiment with a violet peak beyond 420nm may yield a lower optical excitation of OBAs.

FIG. 16A is a chart 16A00 showing the CIE whiteness of calculatedsources with a 3000K CCT for comparisons of LED lamps with improvedquality of light.

FIG. 16A shows a chart 16A00 similar to the chart of FIG. 15, in thecase where the CCT of the conventional LED lamp 104 is 3000K. In thiscase, CIE whiteness is in principle not well-defined because using theequation yields negative values. However, one can still use CIEwhiteness as a relative metric to quantify improvements in whiteness. Asbefore, the whiteness is significantly improved by addition of a violetpeak in the SPD. The dashed lines show the CIE whiteness for a blackbody102 and for a conventional LED lamp 104, respectively.

FIG. 16B is a chart 16B00 showing the CCT-corrected whiteness of sourceswith a 3000K CCT for comparisons of LED lamps with improved quality oflight. The CCT-corrected whiteness is shown for an embodiment of thepresent disclosure (configuration 902), a blackbody source 102, and fora conventional LED lamp 104.

FIG. 16B shows CCT-corrected whiteness rather than the CIE whiteness.Because the CCT of the illuminant is taken into account in theCCT-corrected whiteness formula, the values are positive. As in FIG.16A, whiteness is significantly improved when the violet leak isincreased.

Empirical results for CCT-corrected whiteness of various objectsilluminated by various illuminants and coordinates of a high whitenessreference standard illuminated by various sources are given in FIG. 21and FIG. 22, respectively.

One skilled in the art will recognize that optical excitation of OBAscan be used to induce enhanced whiteness. In addition, it should berecognized that this effect should not be over used because a very largeexcitation of OBAs is perceived as giving a blue tint to an object, thusreducing perceived whiteness. For instance, numerous commercial objectshave a CIE whiteness or a CCT-dependent whiteness of about 110 to 140under excitation by a halogen or a ceramic metal halide CMH source.Exceeding this design value by a large amount, for instance more than 40points, is likely to result in an unwanted blue tint.

FIG. 17 is a chart 1700 showing the relative luminous flux across aprojected shadow vs. angle for a conventional LED-based MR-16 lamp 1702and an embodiment of the present disclosure (configuration 902) forcomparisons of LED lamps with improved quality of light. The verticaldashed lines mark the beginning and end of the partial shadow regions.

In order to produce sharp object shadows, the source needs to have alimited spatial extension. Furthermore, it should produce a sufficientluminous flux for general lighting. Such a configuration is achieved byemploying an LED source which has a small footprint and a high luminousflux, together with a small-footprint optical lens.

In exemplary embodiments, the light-emitting-surface area of the LEDsource is less than 13 mm², or less than 29 mm². In exemplaryembodiments, the light emitted by the LED source is redirected orcollimated by a lens whose lateral extension is smaller than 51 mm.

FIG. 18A is a picture 18A00 of multiple shadows cast by a hand underillumination by a conventional LED lamp with multiple light sources, forcomparison with an LED source with improved quality of light.

FIG. 18A shows how a multiple-source LED can be detrimental to shadowrendering. Each source casts a shadow, resulting in multiple and blurryshadows 1802. The separation between the fingers is barely visible inthe shadow.

FIG. 18B is a picture 18B00 showing the shadow cast by a hand underillumination by an embodiment of the disclosure. In FIG. 18B, the shadowis well-defined (single shadow 1804). The fingers are clearly separated.This illustrates how a single source with a reduced lateral extent canimprove shadow rendering.

FIG. 19A1 and FIG. 19A2 depict an MR-16 form factor lamp (see 19A100)with an integrated light source (see 19A100 and 19A200) as used in LEDlamps with improved quality of light.

In addition to the aforementioned MR-16 lamp, there are manyconfigurations of LED lamps and of connectors. For example, Table 3gives standards (see “Designation”) and corresponding characteristics.

TABLE 3 Base IEC Diameter 60061-1 (crest of Standard Designation thread)Name Sheet E05 05 mm Lilliput Edison Screw (LES) 7004-25 E10 10 mmMiniature Edison Screw (MES) 7004-22 E11 11 mm Mini-Candelabra EdisonScrew (7004-06-1) (mini-can) E12 12 mm Candelabra Edison Screw (CES)7004-28 E14 14 mm Small Edison Screw (SES) 7004-23 E17 17 mmIntermediate Edison Screw (IES) 7004-26 E26 26 mm [Medium] (one-inch)Edison 7004-21A-2 Screw (ESor MES) E27 27 mm [Medium] Edison Screw (ES)7004-21 E29 29 mm [Medium] Edison Screw (ES) E39 39 mm Single-contact(Mogul) Giant 7004-24-A1 Edison Screw (GES) E40 40 mm (Mogul) GiantEdison Screw 7004-24 (GES)

Additionally, a base member (e.g., shell, casing, etc.) can be of anyform factor configured to support electrical connections, whichelectrical connections can conform to any of a set of types orstandards. For example Table 4 gives standards (see “Type”) andcorresponding characteristics, including mechanical spacings between afirst pin (e.g., a power pin) and a second pin (e.g., a ground pin).

TABLE 4 Pin (center Type Standard to center) Pin Diameter Usage G4 IEC60061-1 (7004-72) 4.0 mm 0.65-0.75 mm MR11 and other small halogens of5/10/20 watt and 6/12 volt GU4 IEC 60061-1 (7004-108) 4.0 mm 0.95-1.05mm GY4 IEC 60061-1 (7004-72A) 4.0 mm 0.65-0.75 mm GZ4 IEC 60061-1(7004-64) 4.0 mm 0.95-1.05 mm G5 IEC 60061-1 (7004-52-5) 5 mm T4 and T5fluorescent tubes G5.3 IEC 60061-1 (7004-73) 5.33 mm 1.47-1.65 mmG5.3-4.8 IEC 60061-1 (7004-126-1) 5.33 mm 1.45-1.6 mm GU5.3 IEC 60061-1(7004-109) GX5.3 IEC 60061-1 (7004-73A) 5.33 mm 1.45-1.6 mm MR-16 andother small halogens of 20/35/50 watt and 12/24 volt GY5.3 IEC 60061-1(7004-73B) 5.33 mm G6.35 IEC 60061-1 (7004-59) 6.35 mm 0.95-1.05 mmGX6.35 IEC 60061-1 (7004-59) 6.35 mm 0.95-1.05 mm GY6.35 IEC 60061-1(7004-59) 6.35 mm 1.2-1.3 mm Halogen 100W 120V GZ6.35 IEC 60061-1(7004-59A) 6.35 mm 0.95-1.05 mm G8 8.0 mm Halogen 100W 120V GY8.6 8.6 mmHalogen 100W 120V G9 IEC 60061-1 (7004-129) 9.0 mm Halogen 120V (US)/230V (EU) G9.5 9.5 mm 3.10-3.25 mm Common for theatre use, severalvariants GU10 10 mm Twist-lock 120/230-volt MR-16 halogen lighting of35/50 watt, since mid- 2000s G12 12.0 mm 2.35 mm Used in theatre andsingle-end metal halide lamps G13 12.7 mm T8 and T12 fluorescent tubesG23 23 mm 2 mm GU24 24 mm Twist-lock for self- ballasted compactfluorescents, since 2000s G38 38 mm Mostly used for high- wattagetheatre lamps GX53 53 mm Twist-lock for puck- shaped under-cabinetcompact fluorescents, since 2000s

FIG. 19B depicts a PAR30 form factor lamp 19B00 used in LED lamps withimproved quality of light.

FIG. 19C1 and FIG. 19C2 depict AR111 form factors 19C00 used in LEDlamps with improved quality of light.

FIG. 19D1 and FIG. 19D2 depict a PAR38 form factor lamp 19D00 for usewith LED lamps with improved quality of light.

FIG. 20 is a chart 2000 that indicates the center beam candle powerrequirements for 50-watt equivalent MR-16 lamps as a function of thebeam angle. For a typical application, such as a 25 degree beam angle, acenter beam candle power of at least 2200 candelas is required.

FIG. 21 is a chart 2100 showing the experimentally-measuredCCT-corrected whiteness of various objects illuminated by variousilluminants for comparison to LED lamps with improved quality of light.

The various plotted objects in FIG. 21 correspond to a series of ninewhiteness standards sold by Avian Technologies containing a variedamount of OBAs. The CIE whiteness of these standards increases with theamount of OBA. The sample with the highest amount of OBA, whichreference number is AT-FTS-17a, has a CIE whiteness of about 140 and isreferred to as a “high whiteness reference sample”. The x-axis of thechart 2100 indicates the CIE whiteness of these standards (under D65illumination). The plotted objects correspond to experimentally measuredvalues. The y-axis of the chart indicates the correspondingCCT-corrected whiteness under various illuminants, as measuredexperimentally. The illuminants include a halogen lamp 2102; aconventional LED lamp 2104; a configuration 2106 with a 6% violet leak,and a configuration 2108 with a 10% violet leak. The conventional LEDlamp 2104 fails to excite fluorescence from the OBAs, therefore theCCT-corrected whiteness is roughly the same (about 86) for all of theshown illuminants. The halogen lamp 2102, configuration 2106 andconfiguration 2108 show increased CCT-corrected whiteness for thestandards having a higher CIE whiteness. The halogen lamp andconfiguration 2106 have very similar values of CCT-corrected whiteness.Configuration 2108 has higher values of CCT-corrected whiteness. Thischart shows that, depending on the amount of violet leak, perceivedwhiteness can be tuned to match or exceed that of another illuminant(such as a halogen lamp).

FIG. 22 is a chart 2200 showing the (x,y) color space coordinates of ahigh whiteness reference standard illuminated by various sources with a3000K CCT for comparison to LED lamps with improved quality of light.

FIG. 22 shows the (x,y) color space coordinates of various points. Thewhite point 2202 for an illuminant with a CCT of 3000K is shown. Theexperimental color coordinates of a high whiteness reference standard,illuminated by several illuminants, are also shown. The illuminants area halogen lamp 2204, a conventional LED lamp 2206, a configuration ofthe disclosure with a 6% violet leak 2208, a configuration of thedisclosure with an 8% violet leak 2210, and a configuration of thedisclosure with a 10%-violet leak 2212. The (x,y) color shift (withrespect to the white point 2202) is in a similar direction, and of asimilar magnitude, for the halogen lamp and the three configurations ofthe disclosure. This confirms that all these illuminants induce asimilar whiteness enhancement. On the other hand, the (x,y) color shiftis smaller and in a different direction for the conventional (blue pump)LED lamp 2206; this is because no OBA fluorescence is induced (e.g., thesmall shift is due to the slight tint of the reference sample).

These shifts in chromaticity can be summarized as a series of Duv valuesfrom the illuminant's white point (e.g., for each illuminant) thechromaticity of the high-whiteness reference sample is characterized andits distance Duv from the illuminant's white point is calculated. Table5 is a table that shows the Duv values for various illuminants with aCCT of 3000K, and specifies the direction of the color shift (eithertoward the blue direction or away from the blue direction). As can beseen, sources which are able to excite significant whiteness arecharacterized by Duv values of about five and more toward the bluedirection. In contrast, a conventional blue-based LED source has a Duvof about 3 away from the blue direction. In Table 5, two configurationsof the disclosure are shown. Configuration 1 has a violet leak of 6%,and configuration 2 has a violet leak of 10%.

TABLE 5 Halogen Blue-pumped Configuration Configuration source LED 1 2Duv 5.7 2.7 5.2 9.0 Direction with toward away form toward towardrespect to blue

FIG. 23 is a chart 2300 showing the experimental SPD of an LED lamp withimproved quality of light.

FIG. 23 is an experimental spectrum of an embodiment. It has a CCT of5000K, a CRI value higher than 95, an R9 value higher than 95, and about11% violet leak.

Additional embodiments providing enhanced quality of light, with the aimof improving metrics other than fidelity-related metrics, are nowdescribed.

These embodiments of the disclosure further improve the quality of lightby engineering the emitted spectrum. Spectrum engineering may forinstance be achieved by choice of the emission spectra of LEDs andphosphors in the lamps, and by use of additional optical filters. In thefollowing, various quality-of-light metrics and correspondingembodiments will be discussed.

In the following discussion, the techniques make use of color metricsdefined in the Color Quality Scale metric. The numerical values pertainto the most current version of this metric, i.e., version 9.0.

One possible quality of light metric is the gamut of the light source.To illustrate gamut enhancement, the exemplary techniques use thefollowing methodology. Consider the 15 reflectance samples of the ColorQuality Scale, then compute their chromaticity in CIELAB space underillumination by various sources and consider the gamut of the resultingpoints. This methodology is referred to as Qg in the Color QualityScale.

FIG. 24 is a chart showing the reference gamut 2402 for a blackbodyradiator with a correlated color temperature (CCT) of 3000K. The objectsare distributed around the white point, and cover various hues. Thesehues are indicated by labels on the figure. The distance between theorigin and each object is a measure of its saturation—objects fartherfrom the origin correspond to a higher saturation, which can bedesirable.

FIG. 25 shows the same diagram as FIG. 24 where an exemplary increasedgamut is also shown for comparison. It can be seen that the increasedgamut 2502 covers a larger area than the reference gamut 2402.Specifically, the gamut is increased in the purple and red region. Asource with a CCT of 3000K which has this gamut will show more saturatedreds and purples than a blackbody radiator.

In the following, the exemplary technique considers various sources andcompare them to blackbody radiators of the same CCT. Gamut enhancementis illustrated in FIG. 25. In some cases, it is desirable to increasethe overall gamut of the source, in order to obtain more saturatedcolors. This can be useful in applications such as retail, whereconsumers appreciate goods with saturated colors. This can be measuredby a metric such as Qg.

FIG. 26A shows an example of a spectrum with an increased overall gamut.The spectrum resembles a blackbody radiator with a CCT of 3000K, withadditional dips 2606 and peaks 2604. These dips and peaks may beobtained by choosing the light-emitting elements (phosphor, LEDs) and,if needed, by additional filtering. The dips shown on this figure arevery sharp, but this is not a necessary property—in some cases smootherdips provide a similar gamut increase. The corresponding increased gamutis also shown on FIG. 26B, and compared to a reference gamut. Theincreased gamut 2602 has Qg=134 whereas the reference gamut has Qg=100.

FIG. 26B is a chart showing the CIELAB color space and the position ofvarious colored objects illuminated by a reference source forming areference gamut 2402 and the spectrum of FIG. 26A forming an increasedgamut 2602 for comparison.

FIG. 27A is a chart showing the calculated SPD of an LED lamp having anincreased gamut. FIG. 27B is a chart showing the corresponding increasedgamut 2702 and reference gamut 2402. FIG. 27A and FIG. 27B show anothersource with very similar gamut properties as that shown in FIG. 26. Herehowever, the spectrum resembles an LED spectrum with additional dips andpeaks. The spectrum contains a pronounced violet peak at 415 nm. Thisspectrum can be achieved by a typical embodiment of the disclosure i.e.,an LED source with violet LEDs, carefully chosen phosphors, and filters.The increased gamut 2702 has Qg=133.

FIG. 28A is a chart showing the calculated SPD of an LED lamp having anincreased gamut. FIG. 28B is a chart showing the corresponding gamut2802 and the reference gamut 2402. FIG. 28A and FIG. 28B show yetanother source with increased gamut 2802 and with a spectrum whichresembles an LED spectrum. Here only peaks are present in the spectrum,and their width and position is chosen to increase the gamut. Thesepeaks may correspond to a mixture of LED emission spectra and ofphosphor emission spectra. The increased gamut 2802 has Qg=131.

In other cases, one does not seek to increase saturation for all colorsbut rather for a limited set of colors, which are then rendered morepreferably. For instance, in some embodiments the SPD is modified inorder to increase saturation specifically for yellow or red objects. Inother embodiments the SPD is modified in order to increase thesaturation of human skin of a given ethnicity, or to increase the redcontent in the rendering of said skin tone. A possible metric for suchcases is the chromaticity shift of a given reflectance sample.

In some embodiments of the disclosure, the increased saturation occursfor warm colors such as red, orange, pink—rather than in colors such asyellow and blue. This is useful because end users frequently value warmcolors the most.

In some embodiments, the SPD is engineered such that the skin of a givenethnicity (such as Caucasian) has increased saturation, either directlyradial (redder) or in a slightly non-radial (red-yellow) direction. Insuch an embodiment, the skin of a Caucasian ethnicity undergoes achromatic shift which is substantially along the b* direction of theCIELAB space.

FIG. 29A is a chart showing the calculated SPD of an LED lamp having anincreased gamut. FIG. 29B shows the corresponding gamut 2902 andreference gamut 2402. FIG. 29A and FIG. 29B show an example of aspectrum with increased gamut 2902 in the green and red/purple regions.The spectrum resembles a blackbody radiator with additional dips.

FIG. 30A is a chart showing the calculated SPD of an LED lamp having anincreased gamut. FIG. 30B shows the corresponding gamut 3002 andreference gamut 2402. FIG. 30A and FIG. 30B show another source withvery similar gamut properties (e.g., increased gamut 3002). Herehowever, the spectrum resembles an LED spectrum with additional dips.

FIG. 31A is a chart showing the calculated SPD of an LED lamp having anincreased gamut. FIG. 31B shows the corresponding gamut 3102 andreference gamut 2402. FIG. 31A and FIG. 31B show an example of aspectrum with increased gamut in the yellow region (e.g., increasedgamut 3102). The spectrum resembles a blackbody radiator with additionaldips and peaks.

FIG. 32A is a chart showing the calculated SPD of an LED lamp having anincreased gamut. FIG. 32B shows the corresponding gamut 3202 andreference gamut 2402. FIG. 32A and FIG. 32B show another source withsimilar gamut properties (e.g., increased gamut 3202). Here however, thespectrum resembles an LED spectrum with additional dips and peaks.

While the previous examples were provided for warm-white spectra (CCT ofabout 2700-3000K), the same approach can be used for any CCT. Forinstance, if a CCT of 5000K is desired, the spectrum may be designed toincrease the gamut.

FIG. 33A is a chart showing the calculated SPD of an LED lamp having anincreased gamut. FIG. 33B shows the corresponding gamut 3302 andreference gamut 2402. FIG. 33A and FIG. 33B show a source with a CCT ofabout 5000K. The spectrum resembles an LED spectrum, with additionaldips and peaks. The increased gamut 3302 has Qg=116.

In some cases, a large color contrast between two objects is desired.For instance in medical settings, some diagnoses are formulated byconsidering the color difference between two tissues (in the case ofskin conditions) or the color difference between oxygenated andnon-oxygenated blood (diagnosis of cyanosis). Again, modifications inthe spectrum similar to those described above can be designed to meetsuch a requirement. Here, rather than increasing the gamut, one may seekto increase the color distance between the two objects.

In the particular case of diagnosis of cyanosis, relevant metrics arethe cyanosis observation index (COI) defined in Standard AZ/NZS1680.2.5:1997, and the CCT. According to Standard AZ/NZS 1680.2.5:1997,it is recommended that a source have 3300K<CCT<5300K and that the COI beno greater than 3.3, with lower COI values being also recommended.

FIG. 34 is a chart showing a spectrum which has been designed (includingthe spectra of the phosphors and the amount of violet light) to obtain alow COI value of 0.59 and a CCT of 4000K.

The above discussion pertains to the rendering of various colors. Inaddition to color rendering, it is also possible to optimize thechromaticity (e.g., the white point) of the disclosure. Indeed, for acase where high fidelity is not required, there is more freedom insetting the chromaticity of the source. For instance, it has been shownthat sources with a chromaticity below the blackbody locus werepreferred in some cases. For example, a chromaticity located at Duv ˜10points below the blackbody locus can be preferred.

FIG. 35A is a chart showing the calculated SPD of an LED lamp having anincreased gamut.

FIG. 35B is a chart showing the CIELAB color space and the position ofvarious colored objects illuminated by a reference source forming areference gamut 2402 and the spectrum of FIG. 26A forming an increasedgamut 3502 for comparison.

FIG. 35C is a chart showing the CIELUV (u′v′) color space and thechromaticities of a reference illuminant and of the spectrum of FIG. 35Afor comparison.

It is possible to design the spectrum so that it combines increasedgamut properties and a desired shift of the white point. FIG. 35exemplifies such a source. The spectrum resembles an LED spectrum withadditional dips. The gamut is increased (e.g., increased gamut 3502). Inaddition, the white point 3503 of the source is shown in the 1964 CIE(u′v′) color space. It is located below the blackbody locus 3504. Alsoindicated is the white point of a blackbody radiator with the same CCT(3000K).

In addition to these various optimizations, the presence of violet lightin the spectrum can be used to improve the quality of light. This can bedone to improve the rendering of objects containing OBAs, such as manymanufactured white products. For instance, the amount of violet in thespectrum may be tuned to excite OBAs with enough intensity to reproducethe whiteness rendering of another source.

In addition, in some cases the spectrum may be tuned for optimalinteraction with another device, such as a photo or video camera. Suchimage capture devices use light sensors with color filters (typicallyred, green and blue) in order to capture color information. The filterscan have cross-talk, e.g., the transmission window of two filters mayoverlap. Using a light source which possesses spectral gaps in theoverlap regions can help subsequent treatment of the data to reproducethe images in the scene. This may be used in conjunction with softwarewhich takes the source spectrum into account in order to accuratelyreproduce colors.

As previously mentioned, the practical implementation of such spectrummodifications can be achieved by a combination of LED/phosphor choiceand filters. In the case of filters, the filter can be of variousnatures, for instance: a dielectric stack with a proper transmission, acolor gel, or an absorbing material (such as an absorbing glass). Suchfilters can be deposited directly onto an existing element of the lamp,or can be added as a new element to the lamp. Such filters can be placedat various locations in an LED lamp to filter the light.

FIG. 36 shows a spot lamp such as an MR-16, composed of a base/driver3608, an LED source 3606, an optical lens 3602 and a heatsink 3604. InFIG. 36 the filter 3610 is placed on top of the LED source.

FIG. 37 is similar to FIG. 36 but here the filter 3610 is placed on topof the lens 3602, either by coating the lens itself, or by attaching anaccessory filter to the lens. Likewise, the filter may be paced in otherlocations such as the input port of the optical lens.

FIG. 38 shows a light bulb such as an A-lamp, composed of a base driver3608, a pedestal 3804, an LED source 3606 and a bulb 3802. In FIG. 38the filter 3610 is placed on top of the LED source. This is suitable ina case where the LED source emits light primarily from its top surface.

FIG. 39 is similar to FIG. 38 but here the filter 3610 is placed aroundthe LED source 3606. This is suitable in cases where the LED sourceemits light in a variety of angles. For instance, this is the case forLED sources which mimic the geometry of a traditional incandescentfilament. Source 3900 includes pedestal 3804 and base driver 3608.

FIG. 40 is similar to FIG. 39 but here the filter 3610 is placed on thebulb 3802, either on its inside surface or on its outside surface.Source 4000 includes pedestal 3804, base driver 3608 and LED source3606.

FIG. 41A is similar to FIG. 40 but here the filter 3610 is placed at anintermediate position inside the bulb 3802. Source 41A00 includes LEDsource 3606, pedestal 3804, and base driver 3608.

As a consequence, it is desirable to configure an LED-based lamp whichis useful for general illumination purposes and which improves on thequality-of-light limitations described above. In some applications,lamps with a varying spectrum are desirable. This includes variations inCCT, intensity, etc. This can be done, for instance, with a three-colorRGB LED lamp where the three channels are driven separately and mixed togenerate a desired spectrum. However, although they are able to producemany different spectra, such highly-configurable tunable spectrumsources are expensive and sometimes complex to control. In some cases,only a few specific spectra are desirable—for instance white spectra ata few or several CCTs.

One example is the 3-way incandescent bulb. Control of the 3-way bulb issimple and inexpensive, and often is based on an inexpensive mechanicalselector.

FIG. 41B shows a 3-way bulb with a screw-in socket. The 3-way bulb takesadvantage of the fact that, for conventional A-lamps with a screw-insocket, there are two points of contact (e.g., line 1 4106 and line 24108) for the positive signal (e.g., positive 4110). By wiring eachpoint to a different incandescent filament (e.g., filament1 4102,filament2 4104), several operation modes can be enabled. In the offposition, both lines are off. In position A, line 1 carries current andthe corresponding filament lights up. In position B line, 2 carriescurrent and the corresponding filament lights up. In position C, bothlines carry current and both filaments light up. In a typical 3-waybulb, positions A, B and C are respectively identified as low, mediumand high light output.

The 3-way bulb concept has also been adapted to other technologies, suchas fluorescent and LED bulbs. However, the 3-way control is used toprovide different levels of illumination, as in an incandescent 3-wayLED.

The following figures disclose an LED lamp that can output a fewspecific spectra and be controlled by a simple mechanical switch asheretofore described. In one implementation, the lamp is embodied as a3-way A-blub containing two LED sources (e.g., LED1 4142, LED2 4144 asshown in FIG. 41C and FIG. 41D), each with different CCTs. For example:

-   -   cool white (˜5000K)    -   warm white (˜3000K)

The bulb is compatible with a regular 3-way fixture. Depending on theswitch position, the lamp emits light at 3000K, 5000K or about 4000K(e.g., when both LED sources are mixed).

FIG. 41C shows a 3-way bulb with two filament-like LED sources. In thecase of FIG. 41C, the two LED strings are wired directly to lines 1 and2. LEDs 1 and 2 have different emission spectra such that the visiblespectra can emanate from LED1 or from LED2 or from both.

FIG. 41D shows a driver 4119 disposed inside the bulb. Lines 1 4106 andline 2 4108 both connect to an electrical driver 4119. In thisembodiment, the driver serves several functions:

-   -   It converts the current from AC to a different electrical signal        (for instance DC, or a rectified waveform more amenable to        driving LEDs), and    -   It also performs logic functions such as determining        connectivity and/or routing current and/or varying the magnitude        of the current.

For instance, in a given embodiment, about 10 watts of power areconsumed by the lamp. LED1 4142 has a CCT of 3000K. LED2 4144 has a CCTof 5000K. In position A, only LED1 receives power. In position B, LEDs 1and 2 receive power yielding a CCT between 3000K and 5000K. In positionC, only LED2 receives power. In all positions, a similar amount of lightis emitted because the same amount of power is driven through the LEDs.In position B, the balance of power feeding LEDs 1 and 2 can be tuned toachieve a desired spectrum.

In another embodiment, the total power consumed by the lamp varies withpower. LED1 has a CCT of 2500K, and LED2 has a CCT of 3000K. In positionA, only LED1 receives 4W of power. In position B, LEDs 1 and 2 receive atotal power of 7W. In position C, only LED2 receives 10W of power. Thus,the CCT of the lamp and its light output vary when the lamp is switchedbetween positions. The LEDs and combinations may be configured toreproduce the warm-dimming effect of halogen lamps.

Various other CCT mixes are possible in other embodiments. In some casesthe LEDs may be configured to manage light that has a chromaticities offof the Planckian locus. Some users prefer chromaticities below thePlanckian locus.

FIG. 41E shows such an embodiment. FIG. 41E shows the (x-y) chromaticitydiagram. The Planckian locus is shown, together with the chromaticity ofLEDs 1 and 2. LED2, which are both substantially on-Planckian with a CCTof 5000K. LED1 is below the Planckian with a CCT of 3000K. Someembodiments are configured such that the mixture of LEDs 1 and 2 isoff-Planckian with a CCT of about 4000K.

In another embodiment, three LEDs are present rather than two. Each LEDhas a different spectrum. Each position of the 3-way bulb corresponds todriving one or several of the three LEDs.

In some embodiments, the LED sources include violet dies. In someembodiments they include blue dies. In some embodiments the spectraemitted by the distinct LEDs have a different ratio of blue to violet;for instance, one LED has only violet dies and phosphors, and the secondLED has only blue dies and phosphors.

Typically a 3-way bulb has to be used in a compatible fixture with a3-way switch, which will contact either or both of the lines. In someembodiments however, a 3-way switch is integrated to the bulb, ratherthan being in the socket. Therefore the bulb can be placed in aconventional non-3-way fixture. The selection of the emitted spectrumcan be obtained by using the 3-way switch on the bulb.

Aspects of embodiments can be combined, resulting in a light bulb havingtwo or more LED sources, the two or more LED sources having differentspectra, the bulb having at least three electrodes, such that upondriving current in the electrodes the several LED sources can be drivenin at least two configurations to emit two different spectra.

In addition to the aforementioned lamps, the LED devices in accordancewith the present disclosure include the embodiments shown in thefollowing FIG. 42 through FIG. 54.

The discussions herein discuss limitations of conventional LEDs andapproaches to address these limitations are disclosed.

One such limitation is the strong polarization fields in blue c-planeInGaN LEDs. The lack of strong polarization-induced electric fields thatplague conventional devices on c-plane GaN leads to a greatly enhancedradiative recombination efficiency in the light emitting InGaN layers.For polar materials, the deleterious effects of polarization fields maybe reduced by reducing the InN content of the active region, and/orreducing the barrier thicknesses in multi-quantum well (MQW) activeregion structures. Also, for any surface orientation, the bulk nativesubstrate provides for device geometry that may be scaled down toprovide lower costs (in dollars per lumen) compared to approaches basedon foreign substrates like sapphire SiC, or Si. Furthermore, the reduceddislocation densities provided by bulk GaN offer assurance of highreliability at high current densities, which is not guaranteed byforeign substrate approaches.

As the input current in a light emitting diode is increased, the opticaloutput power increases as the associated higher number of injectedelectrons are converted into photons. In an “ideal” LED the light outputwould continue increasing linearly with increased current such thatsmall LEDs could be driven to very high current densities to achievehigh output power. In practice, however, this light output vs. currentinput characteristic of light emitting diodes has been fundamentallylimited by a phenomenon where the radiative efficiency of conventionallight emitting diodes decreases as the current density increases. It hasbeen observed that such phenomena causes rollover or a sublinearincrease in output power vs. current. This results in only marginalincrease in total flux as the input current is increased.

FIG. 42 shows a sample plot 4200 of relative luminous flux as a functionof injection (forward) current for a conventional LED, and a Cree XP-Ewhite LED with junction temperature of 25° C. The plot shows that therelative luminous flux at 350 mA (approximately 30-50 A/cm²) is 100%while at 700 mA the relative luminous flux is only approximately 170%.This shows that for a conventional LED a roll-off in efficiency for theLED of approximately 15% occurs over the operating range fromapproximately 30-50 A/cm² to 60-100 A/cm². In addition, the peakefficiency for this diode occurs at an even lower operating currentdensity, indicating that the roll-off in efficiency from the peak valueis even greater than 15% were the diode to be operated at 700 mA.

Due to the phenomenon, conventional light emitting diodes are typicallyoperated at lower current densities than provided by the present methodand devices, typically less than from 50 A/cm². This operating currentdensity restriction has placed practical limits on the total flux thatis possible from a single conventional light emitting diode. Commonapproaches to increase the flux from an LED package include increasingthe active area of the LED (thereby allowing the LED to have a higheroperating current while maintaining a suitably low current density), andpackaging several LED die into an array of LEDs, whereby the totalcurrent is divided amongst the LEDs in the package. While theseapproaches have the effect of generating more total flux per LED packagewhile maintaining a suitably low current density, they are inherentlymore costly due to the requirement of increased total LED die area. Oneor more embodiments describe a method and device for lighting based onone or more small-chip high brightness LEDs offering high efficiencyoperating at current densities in excess of conventional LEDs whilemaintaining a long operating lifetime.

There is a large body of work that establishes conventional knowledge ofthe limitations of operating LEDs at high current density with efficientoperation. This body of work includes the similarity in operatingcurrent density for high brightness LEDs that have been commercializedby the largest LED manufacturers, and a large body of work referencingthe “LED Droop” phenomena. Examples of commercial LEDs include Cree'sXP-E, XR-E, and MC-E packages and Lumileds K2 and Rebel packages.Similar high brightness LEDs are available from companies such as Osram,Nichia, Avago, Bridgelux, etc. that all operate in a current densityrange much lower than proposed in this disclosure either throughlimiting the total current, increasing the die size beyond 1 mm², orpackaging multiple LED chips to effectively increase the LED junctionarea. Examples of literature referencing and showing the LED “droop”phenomena are described by Shen et al. in Applied Physics Letters, 91,141101 (2007), and Michiue et al. in the Proceedings of the SPIE Vol.7216, 72161Z-1 (2009) by way of example. In addition, Gardner et al. inApplied Physics Letters, 91, 243506 (2007) explicitly state in referenceto this phenomena and attempts to overcome it that typical currentdensities of interest for LEDs are 20-400 A/cm² with their doubleheterostructure LED grown on a sapphire substrate showing a peakefficiency at approximately 200 A/cm² and then rolling off above thatoperating point. In addition to the limits in maintaining deviceefficiency while operating at high current density, it has been shownthat as the current density is increased in light emitting devices, thelifetime of the devices degrades below acceptable levels with thisdegradation being correlated with dislocations in the material. Tomiyaet. al. demonstrated in IEEE J. of Quantum Elec., Vol. 10, No. 6 (2004)that light emitting devices fabricated on reduced dislocation densitymaterial allowed for higher current operation without the decrease inlifetime that was observed for devices fabricated on high dislocationmaterial. In their studies, dislocation reduction was achieved by meansof lateral epitaxial overgrowth on material grown heteroepitaxially. Todate, conventional methods related to light emitting diodes related toalleviating or minimizing the droop phenomena have not addressed growthand device design of light emitting diodes grown and fabricated on bulksubstrates. A further explanation of conventional LED devices and theirquantum efficiencies are described in more detail below.

FIG. 43 shows two types of variations in the external quantum efficiencyas a function of current density. FIG. 43 is taken from Gardner et al.,“Blue-emitting InGaN—GaN double-heterostructure light-emitting diodesreaching maximum quantum efficiency above 200 A/cm²”, Applied PhysicsLetters 91, 243506 (2007). The behavior shown in reference letters (a)and (b) of FIG. 43 are representative of that of conventional LEDs. Withone or more relatively thin quantum wells, for example, less than about4 nm thick, the external quantum efficiency peaks at a current densityof about 10 A per square centimeter or less and drops relatively sharplyat higher current densities. The external quantum efficiency at highercurrent densities can be increased by increasing the thickness of theactive layer, for example, to approximately 13 nanometers. However,referring to curve (c), in this case the external quantum efficiency isvery low at current densities below about 30 amperes per squarecentimeter (A/cm²) and also at current densities above about 300 A/cm²,with a relatively sharp maximum in between. Ideal would be an LED withan external quantum efficiency that was approximately constant fromcurrent densities of about 20 A/cm² to current densities above about 200A/cm², above about 300 A/cm², above about 400 A/cm², above about 500A/cm², or above about 1000 A/cm².

Schmidt et al. in Jap. J. of Appl. Phys. Vol. 46, No. 7, 2007 previouslydemonstrated an LED with a peak emission wavelength of 408 nm that wasgrown on a bulk non-polar m-Plane substrate with a threading dislocationdensity of less than 1×10⁶ cm⁻². Despite the use of a high-quality bulksubstrate with a non-polar orientation, the devices demonstrated in thiswork showed a peak external quantum efficiency of only 38.9%. These andother limitations of conventional techniques have been overcome in partby the present method and devices, which are described throughout thepresent specification and more particularly below.

FIG. 44 illustrates quantum efficiency plotted against current densityfor LED devices according to an embodiment of the present disclosure andfor a prior art device. As shown, the present devices are substantiallyfree from current droop (less than about 10 percent), which issignificant. Further details of the present device can be foundthroughout the present specification and more particularly below.

FIG. 45 is a diagram 4500 of a high current density epitaxially grownLED structure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Thisdiagram is merely an example, which should not unduly limit the scope ofthe claims herein. One of ordinary skill in the art would recognizeother variations, modifications, and alternatives. In one or moreembodiments, the LED structure includes at least:

-   -   1. A bulk GaN substrate, including a polar, semipolar or        non-polar surface orientation. Further details are provided        below:        -   Any orientation, e.g., polar, non-polar, semi-polar,            c-plane.        -   (Al,Ga,In)N based material.        -   Threading dislocation (TD) density <10⁸ cm⁻².        -   Stacking fault (SF) density <10⁴ cm⁻¹.        -   Doping >10¹⁷ cm⁻³.    -   2. An n-Type (Al)(In)GaN epitaxial layer(s) having a thickness        ranging from about 1 nm to about 10 μm and a dopant        concentration ranging from about 1×10¹⁶ cm⁻³ to about 5×10²⁰        cm⁻³. Further details are provided below:        -   Thickness <2 μm, <1 μm, <0.5 μm, <0.2 μm.        -   (Al,Ga,In)N based material.        -   Growth T<1200° C., <1000° C.        -   Unintentionally doped (UID) or doped.    -   3. A plurality of doped and/or undoped (Al)(In)GaN active region        layers. Further details are provided below:        -   At least one (Al,Ga,In)N based layer.        -   Quantum Well (QW) structure with one ore more wells.        -   QWs are >20 A, >50 A, >80 A in thickness.        -   QW and n- and p-layer growth temperature identical, or            similar.        -   Emission wavelength <575 nm, <500 nm, <450 nm, <410 nm.    -   4. A p-Type (Al)(In)GaN epitaxial layer(s) having a thickness        ranging from about 10 nm to about 500 nm and a dopant        concentration ranging from about 1×10¹⁶ cm⁻³ to about 1×10²¹        cm⁻³. Further details are provided below:        -   At least one Mg doped layer.        -   Thickness <0.3 μm, <0.1 μm.        -   (Al,Ga,In)N based.        -   Growth T<1100° C., <1000° C., <900° C.        -   At least one layer acts as an electron blocking layer.        -   At least one layer acts as a contact layer.

In a specific embodiment, epitaxial layers are deposited on thesubstrate by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) atatmospheric pressure. The ratio of the flow rate of the group Vprecursor (ammonia) to that of the group III precursor (trimethylgallium, trimethyl indium, trimethyl aluminum) during growth is betweenabout 3000 and about 12000. In a specific embodiment, a contact layer ofn-type (silicon-doped) GaN is deposited on the substrate, with athickness of less than 5 microns and a doping level of about 2×10¹⁸cm⁻³.

In a specific embodiment, an undoped InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well(MQW) is deposited as the active layer. The MQW active region has two totwenty periods, comprising alternating layers of 2-12 nm of InGaN and1-20 nm of GaN as the barrier layers. Next, a 5-30 nm undoped AlGaNelectron blocking layer is deposited on top of the active region. Inother embodiments, the multiple quantum wells can be configured slightlydifferently. Of course, there can be other variations, modifications andalternatives. The substrate and resulting epitaxial surface orientationmay be polar, nonpolar or semipolar. In one or more other embodiments,the bulk wafer can be in an off-axis configuration, which causesformation of one or more smooth films. In or more embodiments, theoverlying epitaxial film and structures are characterized by amorphology being smooth and relatively free from pyramidal hillocks.Further details of the off-axis configuration and surface morphology canbe found throughout the present specification and more particularlybelow. As an example, however, details of the off cut embodiment isdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,247,887 and in U.S. Application PublicationNo. 2013/0075770.

A method according to embodiments for forming a smooth epitaxial filmusing an offcut or miscut or off-axis substrate is outlined below:

-   -   1. Provide GaN substrate or boule.    -   2. Perform off-axis miscut of GaN substrate to expose desired        surface region or process substrate or boule (e.g., mechanical        process) to expose off-axis oriented surface region, and perform        polishing operations to provide an epi-ready surface.    -   3. Transfer GaN substrate into MOCVD process chamber.    -   4. Provide a carrier gas selected from nitrogen gas, hydrogen        gas, or a mixture of them.    -   5. Provide a nitrogen bearing species such as ammonia or the        like.    -   6. Raise MOCVD process chamber to growth temperature, e.g., 700        to 1200° C.    -   7. Maintain the growth temperature within a predetermined range.    -   8. Combine the carrier gas and nitrogen bearing species such as        ammonia with group III precursors such as the indium precursor        species tri-methyl-indium and/or tri-ethyl-indium, the gallium        precursor species tri-methyl-gallium and/or tri-ethyl-gallium,        and/or the aluminum precursor tri-methyl-aluminum into the        chamber.    -   9. Form an epitaxial film containing one or more of the        following layers GaN, InGaN, AlGaN, InAlGaN.    -   10. Cause formation of a surface region of the epitaxial gallium        nitride film substantially free from hillocks and other surface        roughness structures and/or features.    -   11. Repeat steps (7) and (8) for other epitaxial films to form        one or more device structures.    -   12. Perform other desired processing steps.

The above sequence of steps provides a method according to an embodimentof the present disclosure. In a specific embodiment, the presentdisclosure provides a method and resulting crystalline epitaxialmaterial with a surface region that is substantially smooth and freefrom hillocks and the like for improved device performance. Although theabove has been described in terms of an off-axis surface configuration,there can be other embodiments having an on-axis configuration using oneor more selected process recipes, which have been described in moredetail throughout the present specification and more particularly below.Other alternatives can also be provided where steps are added, one ormore steps are removed, or one or more steps are provided in a differentsequence without departing from the scope of the claims herein.

As merely an example, the present method can use the following sequenceof steps in forming one or more of the epitaxial growth regions using anMOCVD tool operable at atmospheric pressure, or low pressure, in someembodiments:

-   -   1. Start.    -   2. Provide a crystalline substrate member comprising a backside        region and a surface region, which has been offcut or miscut or        off-axis.    -   3. Load substrate member into an MOCVD chamber.    -   4. Place substrate member on susceptor, which is provided in the        chamber, to expose the offcut or miscut or off-axis surface        region of the substrate member.    -   5. Subject the surface region to a first flow (e.g., derived        from one or more precursor gases including at least an ammonia        containing species, a Group III species, and a first carrier        gas) in a first direction substantially parallel to the surface        region.    -   6. Form a first boundary layer within a vicinity of the surface        region.    -   7. Provide a second flow (e.g., derived from at least a second        carrier gas) in a second direction configured to cause change in        the first boundary layer to a second boundary layer.    -   8. Increase a growth rate of crystalline material formed        overlying the surface region of the crystalline substrate        member.    -   9. Continue crystalline material growth to be substantially free        from hillocks and/or other imperfections.    -   10. Cease flow of precursor gases to stop crystalline growth.    -   11. Perform other steps and repetition of the above, as desired.

The above sequence of steps provides methods according to an embodimentof the present disclosure. As shown, the method uses a combination ofsteps including a way of forming a film of crystalline material usingMOCVD. In some embodiments, the present disclosure includes atmosphericpressure (e.g., 700-800 Torr) growth for formation of high qualitygallium nitride containing crystalline films that are smooth andsubstantially free from hillocks, pyramidal hillocks, and otherimperfections that lead to degradation of the electrical or opticalperformance of the device, including droop. In some embodiments, amultiflow technique is provided.

FIG. 46 is a flow diagram 4600 of a method for fabricating an improvedGaN film according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Themethod provides a crystalline substrate member having a backside regionand a surface region. The crystalline substrate member can include agallium nitride wafer, or the like.

As shown, the method includes providing a substrate step 4602, placingor loading (step 4604) the substrate member into an MOCVD chamber. In aspecific embodiment, the method supplies one or more carrier gases, andone or more nitrogen bearing precursor gases, step 4603 and 4606, whichare described in more detail below. In one or more embodiments, thecrystalline substrate member is provided on a susceptor from thebackside to expose the surface region of the substrate member. Thesusceptor is preferably heated using resistive elements or othersuitable techniques. In a specific embodiment, the susceptor is heated(step 4608) to a growth temperature ranging from about 700° C. to about1200° C.

In a specific embodiment, the present method includes subjecting thesurface region of the crystalline substrate to a first flow 4610 in afirst direction substantially parallel to the surface region. In aspecific embodiment, the method forms a first boundary layer within avicinity of the surface region. In a specific embodiment, the firstboundary layer is believed to have a thickness ranging from about 1 mmto about 1 cm, but can be other thicknesses. Further details of thepresent method can be found below.

Depending upon the embodiment, a flow 4610 is preferably derived fromone or more precursor gases including at least an ammonia containingspecies, a Group III species, and a first carrier gas, and possiblyother entities. Ammonia is a Group V precursor according to a specificembodiment. Other Group V precursors include N₂. In a specificembodiment, the first carrier gas can include hydrogen gas, nitrogengas, argon gas, or other inert species, including combinations. In aspecific embodiment, the Group III precursors include TMGa, TEGa, TMIn,TMAl, dopants (e.g., Cp2Mg, disilane, silane, diethelyl zinc, iron,manganese, or cobalt containing precursors), and other species.

Depending upon the embodiment, the method also continues with epitaxialcrystalline material growth 4612, which is substantially smooth and freeof hillocks or other imperfections. In a specific embodiment, the methodalso can cease flow of precursor gases to stop growth and/or performother steps. In a specific embodiment, the method stops at step 4614. Insome embodiments, the present method causes formation of a galliumnitride containing crystalline material that has a surface region thatis substantially free of hillocks and other defects, which lead topoorer crystal quality and can be detrimental to device performance. Ina specific embodiment, at least 90% of the surface area of thecrystalline material is free from pyramidal hillock structures.

The above sequence of steps provides methods according to an embodimentof the present disclosure. As shown, the method uses a combination ofsteps including a way of forming a film of crystalline material usingMOCVD. In some embodiments, the present disclosure includes a flowtechnique provided at atmospheric pressure for formation of high qualitygallium nitride containing crystalline films, which have surface regionssubstantially smooth and free from hillocks and other defects orimperfections. The above sequence of steps provides a method accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure. In a specific embodiment,the resulting crystalline material is substantially free from hillocksfor improved device performance.

In one or more embodiments, a p-type GaN contact layer is deposited,with a thickness of about 200 nm and a hole concentration greater thanabout 5×10¹⁷ cm⁻³. An Ohmic contact layer is deposited onto the p-typecontact layer as the p-type contact and may be annealed to providedesired characteristics. Ohmic contact layers include Ag-based single-or multi-layer contacts, indium-tin-oxide (ITO) based contacts, Pd basedcontacts, Au based contacts, and others. LED mesas, with a size of about250×250 μm², are formed by photolithography and dry etching using achlorine-based inductively-coupled plasma (ICP) technique. The wafer isdiced into discrete LED dies using techniques such as laser scribe andbreak, diamond scribe and break, sawing, water jet cutting, laserablation, or others. Electrical connections are formed by conventionaldie-attach and wire bonding steps.

FIG. 47 is a diagram 4700 illustrating a high current density LEDstructure with electrical connections according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure. This diagram is merely an illustration, which shouldnot unduly limit the scope of the claims herein. One of ordinary skillin the art would recognize other variations, modifications, andalternatives. As shown, the LED structure is characterized as atop-emitting lateral conducting high current density LED according to aspecific embodiment. Preferably, the LED structure includes at least:

-   -   1. A bulk GaN substrate, including polar, semipolar or non-polar        surface orientation.    -   2. An n-Type (Al)(In)GaN epitaxial layer(s) having a thickness        ranging from about 1 nm to about 10 μm and a dopant        concentration ranging from about 1×10¹⁶ cm⁻³ to about 5×10²⁰        cm⁻³.    -   3. A plurality of doped and/or undoped (Al)(In)GaN active region        layers.    -   4. A p-Type (Al)(In)GaN epitaxial layer(s) having a thickness        ranging from about 10 nm to about 500 nm and a dopant        concentration ranging from about 1×10¹⁶ cm⁻³ to about 1×10²¹        cm⁻³.    -   5. A semi-transparent p-type contact made of a suitable material        such as indium tin oxide, zinc oxide and having a thickness        ranging from about 5 nm to about 500 nm.    -   6: An n-type contact made of a suitable material such as        Ti/Al/Ni/Au or combinations of these metals, Ti/Al/Ti/Au or        combinations of these metals having a thickness ranging from        about 100 nm to about 7 μm.

FIG. 48 is a diagram 4800 of a substrate-emitting lateral conducting(i.e., “flip-chip”) high current density LED device according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. In this embodiment, the LED deviceincludes at least:

1. A bulk GaN substrate.

-   -   2. An n-Type (Al)(In)GaN epitaxial layer(s).    -   3. A plurality of doped and/or undoped (Al)(In)GaN active region        layers.    -   4. A p-Type (Al)(In)GaN epitaxial layer(s).    -   5. A reflective p-type contact.    -   6. An n-type contact.

FIG. 49 is a diagram 4900 of a substrate-emitting vertically conductinghigh current density LED according to a specific embodiment of thepresent disclosure. The LED device includes at least:

-   -   1. A bulk GaN substrate.    -   2. An n-Type (Al)(In)GaN epitaxial layer(s).    -   3. A plurality of doped and/or undoped (Al)(In)GaN active region        layers.    -   4. A p-Type (Al)(In)GaN epitaxial layer(s).    -   5. A reflective p-type contact.    -   6. An n-type contact.

FIG. 50A is an example of a packaged white LED containing a high currentdensity LED device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.In a specific embodiment, the packaged LED device includes at least:

-   -   1. A high current density LED device.    -   2. An encapsulant or lens material which may or may not contain        a combination of red-, green-, blue-, orange-, and        yellow-emitting or other color down-conversion materials in a        configuration such that white light is produced when the        down-conversion materials are contained in the encapsulant or        lens.    -   3. An LED package that provides an electrical connection to the        LED and a path for thermal dissipation from the subject        apparatus to the surrounding environment.

Other examples of packaged devices can be found in U.S. ApplicationPublication No. 2011/0186887. In other embodiments, the packaged deviceincludes an array configuration such as described in U.S. ApplicationPublication No. 2011/0186874, which is incorporated by reference in itsentirety. The present LED device can be configured in an array formed ona substrate member. Such techniques are disclosed in U.S. ApplicationNo. 2013/0026483 and in U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/936,000,filed on Feb. 5, 2014, each of which is incorporated by reference in itsentirety.

FIG. 50B is a plot of die EQE vs. current density. It shows thatembodiments of the disclosure exhibit an EQE of more than 40%, and morethan about 45%, at current densities below 200 A/cm². The plot showspulsed output power vs. current density and external quantum efficiencyvs. current density for an LED fabricated on GaN with an emissionwavelength of about 405 nm according to one or more embodiments. Thisplot is merely an illustration, which should not unduly limit the scopeof the claims herein. One of ordinary skill in the art would recognizeother variations, modifications and alternatives. Of particular mentionis the small decrease in external quantum efficiency up to approximatelyfour times higher operating current density than for conventional LEDsthat have been fabricated in accordance with the prior techniques. Insome embodiments, the device uses an indium tin oxide (ITO) as a contactmaterial configured for operation at high current density. In a someembodiments, the high current density is 200 A/cm², for example as highas 500 A/cm², or even 1000 A/cm² and greater. The ITO material issubstantially free from degradation and free from imperfections. Thejunction temperature of the LED under operating conditions is greaterthan about 100° C., and often greater than about 150° C., or even aboveabout 200° C. In some embodiments, the LED is able to operate incontinuous wave (CW) mode without active cooling, and in some caseswithout passive cooling.

Other embodiments provide a resulting device and method using bulkgallium and nitrogen containing material for improved reliability. Thatis, growth on the bulk GaN substrates increases reliability at the highcurrent densities. In contrast, conventional LEDs grown on foreignsubstrates are imperfect and include multiple defects. It is believedthat such defects caused by the heteroepitaxial growth limit the devicelifetime and therefore prohibit operation at high current densities. TheLEDs according to one or more embodiments should not suffer from thesame defects. In a some embodiments, the lifetime windows are >500 hrsCW, >1000 hrs CW, >2000 hrs CW, >5000 hrs CW, or others.

In a specific embodiment, the present disclosure also includes LED basedlighting fixtures and replacement lamps. As an example, goals of theselighting fixtures are to produce an acceptable level of light (totallumens), of a desirable appearance (color temperature and CRI), with ahigh efficacy (lm/W), at a low cost. While these characteristics are alldesirable, there are typically design tradeoffs that must be consideredwhich result in some, but not all of the requirements being met. Someembodiments of the present disclosure propose LED based fixtures andlamps that are based on light emitting diodes grown on bulk III-Nitridesubstrates such as a bulk gallium nitride substrate. These LEDs exhibitsurprisingly different performance characteristics compared withconventional LEDs that are grown heteroepitaxially on foreign substratessuch as sapphire, silicon carbide, silicon, zinc oxide, and the like.The characteristics that these bulk III-Nitride based LEDs exhibitenable very different lamp/fixture designs that are currently notbelieved to be possible with conventional LEDs.

Conventional light sources, incandescent, halogen, fluorescent, HID, andthe like have well defined standard characteristics. Thisstandardization allows for a high degree of knowledge on the operatingcharacteristics that are required from LED based lamps when designinglight sources that are made to be replacements for the incumbenttechnology. While there is a vast array of lighting products on themarket, there are a large number of standard lamps or fixtures that havebeen the subject of intense research for LED based replacementsolutions. Some examples of these lamp/fixtures, while not exhaustive,include A-lamps, fluorescent tubes, compact CFLs, metallic reflectors ofvarious sizes (MR), parabolic reflectors of various sizes (PAR),reflector bulbs (R), single- and double-ended quartz halogens,candelabras, globe bulbs, high bays, troffers, and cobra-heads. A givenlamp will have characteristic luminous outputs that are dictated by theinput power to the lamp. For example, a 20 W MR-16 fixture willtypically emit approximately 300 lm, a 30 W MR-16 will emit 450 lm, anda 50 W MR-16 will emit 700 lm. To appropriately replace these fixtureswith an LED solution, the lamp must conform to the geometrical sizingfor MR16 lamps and reach minimum levels of luminous flux.

Despite these specified guidelines, there are relatively few truereplacement lamps that are designed with LEDs that reach the luminousflux desired and have either a comparable or higher luminous efficacy,motivating the end user to switch from the incumbent technology. Thoseproducts that do meet these requirements are prohibitively expensive,which has led to extremely slow adoption. A large portion of this costis dictated by the number of LEDs required for LED based lamps to reachthe luminous flux and luminous efficacy of current technology. This hasoccurred despite the high luminous efficacy that is typically reportedfor LEDs, which is much lower in an SSL lamp than specified as adiscrete device.

FIG. 51 is a diagram 5100 showing pulsed output power vs. currentdensity and external quantum efficiency vs. current density for an LEDfabricated on GaN with an emission wavelength of about 405 nm accordingto one or more embodiments. This diagram is merely an illustration,which should not unduly limit the scope of the claims herein. One ofordinary skill in the art would recognize other variations,modifications, and alternatives. Of particular mention is the smalldecrease in external quantum efficiency up to approximately four timeshigher operating current density than for conventional LEDs that havebeen fabricated in the prior art. Other examples are provided in FIG.44.

The junction temperature of the LED under operating conditions isgreater than about 100° C., and often greater than about 150° C. In someembodiments, the LED is able to operate in continuous wave (CW) modewithout active cooling, and in some cases without passive cooling.

Summary performance in terms of lumens per base LED area (total LED chipplan-view area) is shown in FIG. 52, FIG. 53 and FIG. 54, which areexperimental results for LED devices in comparison to 350 mA, 700 mA,and 1000 mA drive per mm² for conventional LEDs. Using the elementsdescribed herein, increased LED output lumen density can be achieved andis several times higher than for conventional LEDs, leading to lowercost lighting products through reduced LED chip area and smaller optics,which in turn facilitates techniques for improved heat sinking.

In other embodiments, the present disclosure provides a resulting deviceand method using bulk gallium and nitrogen containing material forimproved reliability. That is, growth on the bulk GaN substratesincreases reliability at the high current densities. In contrast,conventional LEDs grown on foreign substrates are imperfect and includemultiple defects. It is believed that such defects caused by theheteroepitaxial growth limit the device lifetime and therefore prohibitoperation at high current densities. The LEDs according to one or moreembodiments should not suffer from the same defects. In a someembodiments, the lifetime windows are >1000 hrs CW, >10000 hrsCW, >25000 hrs CW, >50000 hrs CW, or others.

Returning to the FIG. 51, the diagram 5100 illustrates the performancelimitations of legacy LED based lamps. It can be shown that in order toreplicate the output power of a 20 W halogen bulb, the LED equivalentmust generate at least 270 lumens of flux with a luminous efficacy inexcess of 13 lm/W. While even with de-rating, the results show that mostproducts exceed the luminous efficacy of the halogen incumbent, only oneproduct generated enough total flux to claim equivalence to a 20W MR16.In addition, this product achieved this flux by mounting a large number(>4) of high power LEDs into the MR16 fixture, resulting in a fixturewith greater than 4 mm² of LED junction active area. The cost of thelamp increases approximately linearly as the total junction active areafor the LEDs increases. Thus, it is highly desirable to decrease thetotal active junction area of LED that is contained within a given lamp,while still maintaining the desired total flux and efficacy.

Typical LEDs that are grown heteroepitaxially are unable to maintainhigh flux while decreasing the active area size because of current andthermal “droop”. As the current density is increased in an LED, therelative efficiency has been shown to decrease. This effect can resultin a decrease in relative radiative efficiency from 100% at about 10A/cm² to 50% at about 100 A/cm².

In certain embodiments, LED devices provided by the present disclosureuse the structures and techniques as shown in FIG. 55 through FIG. 63,as follows.

FIG. 55 illustrates the efficiency characteristics of LEDs emitting atvarious wavelengths. Short-wavelength LEDs (415-430 nm) maintainefficiency at much higher carrier densities than long-wavelength LEDs(445 nm and above). FIG. 55 is taken from “Influence of polarizationfields on carrier lifetime and recombination rates in InGaN-basedlight-emitting diodes”, David et al, Appl. Phys. Lett. 97, 033501(2010), which describes the increase of the polarization fields inlonger-wavelength LEDs. The article “Carrier distribution in(0001)InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well light-emitting diodes”, David etal, Appl. Phys. Lett. 92, 053502 (2008), discusses the difficulty inspreading carriers between the quantum wells in 450 nm-pump LEDs.

The blue light from the pump LED contributes to the white spectrum.Therefore, the amount of blue light that is transmitted by the phosphorsneeds to be well-controlled to achieve a given CCT. Variations in thewavelength of the pump LED need to be accounted for in the phosphorcomposition/loading. Accounting for the differences in wavelength can bea challenging task when manufacturing white LEDs.

State-of-the-art results for 440-nm pump LEDs can be found in thearticle “White light emitting diodes with super-high luminous efficacy”,Narukawa et al, J. Phys. D 43, 354002 (2010). At room temperature and acurrent density of about 100 A/cm², an external quantum efficiency of65% is reported. Assuming an extraction efficiency of about 90% and aperformance drop of about 10% between room temperature and a 100° C.junction temperature, this corresponds to an IQE of about 65% at 100A/cm² and 100° C.

Another conventional approach consists in using a pump LED whoseemission peak is in the 395 nm to 405 nm range to pump a system of threeor four phosphors. This is advantageous because 400 nm pump LEDstypically retain higher performance at a higher current density than 445nm pump LEDs, presumably due to the lower piezoelectric fields and tothe thick active regions.

Employing an LED emitter whose final spectra is minimally affected (incolor or brightness) by the presence or absence of the emitterwavelength in the final spectra allows for stable performance over drivecurrents and temperatures. Proper selection of color-stable phosphormaterials for the devices range of operation (e.g., a 405 nm emitter'sspectral weight) is only 1.5% that of a 450 nm emitter). A 420 nmemitter's spectral weight is still only 10% of that of a 450 nm emitter.Stability in color and flux of a finished phosphor-converted LED isincreased dramatically over a traditional blue pump device where as muchas 20% of the final spectrum is comprised of the underlying emitter at450 nm.

The elimination of the need to target a certain amount of emitter lightleakage in the final spectra also offers improved color yield in amanufacturing environment. The manufacturing phosphor deposition processfor an about 405 nm to 430 nm pump device can accept more processvariance without sacrificing large-volume color repeatability. In turn,this allows a manufacturing process to run with higher throughputwithout loss in repeatability.

Use of three or more component colors (chip emission and at least twophosphors) offers a larger tunable color gamut for a phosphor-convertedLED device than does a two-component color system. A large range oftunable colors and color rendering indices become available. A two-colorcomponent white LED will only have one possible cross section with thePlanckian curve (one point to achieve a balanced white spectrum) whereasa three or more color system allows for infinite tunability along thePlanckian curve. This approach, however, suffers from variouslimitations:

-   -   1. The Stokes loss between the pump wavelengths and the        phosphors wavelengths is larger, so more energy is lost in the        phosphor down-conversion process. The comparatively larger band        gap of a 400 nm pump LED causes a larger operation voltage. The        reduced carrier confinement in the active region of a 400 nm        pump LED makes it easier for carriers to escape, and therefore        decreases the high-temperature performance. Most materials have        a significantly larger absorption at 400 nm than at 445 nm (this        is the case for high-reflectivity metals such as Al and Ag which        are commonly used in LEDs, of silicones, of some substrates such        as GaN or SiC, and of Au wire bonds) which decreases the        light-extraction efficiency.    -   2. There has not been focused development on phosphors for use        with 380-430 nm excitation light. This places the performance        levels of the available phosphor materials behind the        state-of-the-art phosphor performance enjoyed by LED        manufacturers employing 450 nm pump LEDs for use with materials        such as Y₃Al₅O₁₂:Ce³⁺ (YAG-yellow) and CaAlSiN:Eu²(red) which        have had both time and pressure applied to their improvements.    -   3. Due to this offset in state-of-the-art phosphor material        performance, not all of the available phosphors can be used in        high performance LED devices. Prime examples are blue phosphors        which are not suitable for use with all chip-emission        wavelengths. The absorption characteristics of two blue-emitting        phosphors are shown in FIG. 56. In graph 5600 vertical lines        indicate the position of a 405 nm and 420 nm emitter relative to        these two phosphor absorption curves. Though the two materials        absorption strengths are similar at 405 nm, they are clearly not        the same at 420 nm. This reduction in absorption strength of the        first phosphor materially affects the device performance with        longer-wavelength emitters. This change in performance is shown        in FIG. 57 depicting graph 5700 comparing the light output for        phosphor 1 and phosphor 2 with wavelength.

Present embodiments provide white LED light sources with highperformance. Among other things, the disclosure provides a new approachto high-CRI white LEDs. For example, the white LED light sourcecomprises pump LED(s) whose peak emission is in the range of about 405nm to 430 nm and a system of three or more phosphors (such as blue,green, and red). A substantially white spectrum is produced by thephosphor emission.

One advantage of the embodiments of the disclosure is that a pump LED inthe range of about 405 nm to 430 nm can display a very high IQE at highcarrier density (similar to a 400 nm pump LED) due to the moderatestrain and piezoelectric fields. The carrier confinement in the activeregion, on the other hand, is significantly improved so that thehigh-temperature performance is not compromised. The lower band gapcompared to a 400 nm LED also enables a lower forward voltage.Therefore, the range of about 405 nm to 430 nm is optimal from thestandpoint of pump LED performance. High IQE performance for such LEDs(at a current density of 100 A/cm² and a junction temperature 100° C.)can be better than 70% and even exceed 90%. This is to be compared toabout 65% for state-of-the art LEDs emitting at 440 nm as described inthe prior art.

In addition, optical absorption in most materials is significantlyreduced between 400 nm and about 405 nm to 430 nm, yielding overalllarger light-extraction efficiency. Also, as explained above, the use ofthree or more phosphors to generate white light is advantageous in termsof color control and process stability. Blue phosphors are availablewith strong absorption in the range of about 405 nm to 430 nm, and withhigh quantum efficiency. Some examples of blue-emitting phosphors withstrong absorption in this wavelength range are BaMgAl₁₀O17:Eu²⁺,Sr₁₀(PO₄)₆Cl₂:E, LaAl(Si_(6-z)Al_(z))N_(10-z)O_(z):Ce³⁺, a-Sialon:Ce³⁺,(Y,La)—Si—O—N:Ce³⁺, Gd_(1-x)Sr_(2+x)AlO_(5-x)F_(x):Ce³⁺. The Stokes lossis also mitigated in comparison to a 400 nm pump LED.

FIG. 58 illustrates an embodiment of the disclosure 5800, where an LEDwith peak emission is in the range of about 405 nm to 430 nm pumpsblue-, red-, and green-emitting phosphors. As shown in FIG. 58, a pumpLED source is provided on a substrate or a submount. For example, thepump LED source emits radiation at a wavelength of about 405 nm to 430nm. The pump LED source is disposed in a mix of phosphor materials,which absorbs the radiation emitted by the LED source. The phosphormaterials are excited by the pump LED and emit blue, green, and redlight. In a some embodiments, the mix of phosphors is specificallyadapted to emit white light by the combination of emissions from thephosphors. The mix of phosphor materials is disposed in an encapsulantwhich is substantially transparent to both pump-LED-source andphosphor-emitted light.

Depending on the application, the encapsulant may include various typesof materials. In a some embodiments, the encapsulant is specificallyconfigured to improve light-extraction efficiency. For example, theencapsulant material can comprise polymeric species. In someembodiments, the pump LED source emits radiation in the wavelength rangefrom about 405 nm to 430 nm and pumps three phosphors (e.g., a blue, agreen, and a red phosphor) that are mixed together, and the phosphor mixconverts a substantial fraction of the pump LED source light to longerwavelength light. Of course, the phosphor mix may contain additionalphosphors, e.g., an amber phosphor can be added to increase CRI.

In various embodiments, the wavelength emitted by the LED changes due tochanges in temperature. For example, a pump LED emits radiation at awavelength of about 398 nm at room temperature. When temperatureincreases to about 120° C., the pump LED emits radiation at about 405nm. Typically, high current and/or high temperature are the main causesof wavelength shift. For example, for each increase of 23° C. inoperating temperature, the wavelength of the radiation emitted by thepump LED increases by 1 nm. The encapsulant and the phosphor materialused in various embodiments of the disclosure can compensate for thewavelength shift.

FIG. 59A and FIG. 59B illustrate carrier spreading in multi-quantum well(MQW) LEDs emitting at 450 nm (left, FIG. 59A) and 420 nm (right, FIG.59B). In a 450 nm-emitting scheme 59A00, the energy barriers are larger,which can impede spreading of the holes between the quantum wells. Asshown, electrons are more or less spread evenly, while holes are not. Incontrast, in a 420 nm-emitting scheme 59B00, the energy barriers arelower and hole spreading is thus improved, thereby increasing theeffective volume of the active region. Better optimized carrierspreading is achieved by embodiments of the present disclosure. Morespecifically, carrier confinement can be reduced compared to that a 450nm pump LED, which enables better carrier spreading in a MQW system.Therefore, one can employ a thick active region (for instance, more than10 nm thick or more than 50 nm thick) and inject carriers efficientlyacross this active region, as illustrated in FIG. 59.

FIG. 60 illustrates an embodiment 6000 of the disclosure where five pumpLEDs are arranged in an array. In this implementation the LEDs emit atabout 405 nm to 430 nm. The LEDs are disposed as a phosphor mix that isspecifically made for color conversion. As described above, the phosphormix comprises phosphor materials which have a high absorption of thelight emitted by the pump LEDs. For example, the phosphor mix comprisesone or more of the following materials: BaMgAl₁₀O₁₇:Eu²⁺,Sr₁₀(PO₄)₆Cl₂:E, LaAl(Si_(6-z)Al_(z))N_(10-z)O_(z):Ce³⁺, a-Sialon:Ce³⁺,(Y,La)—Si—O—N:Ce³⁺, Gd_(1-x)Sr_(2+x)AlO_(5-x)F_(x):Ce³⁺. The phosphormix is prepared for converting the light from the pump LEDs to light inother colors such as red, green, and/or blue. When the light indifferent colors is combined, preferably substantially white light isproduced. The mix of phosphor materials is disposed in an encapsulant,which is substantially transparent to both pump-LED and phosphor-emittedlight. In some embodiments, the encapsulant is specifically configuredto improve light extraction efficiency and is formed from polymericspecies.

FIG. 61 illustrates an embodiment of the disclosure 6100 where the pumpLEDs are arranged in an array, and the phosphor composition is variedspatially in a pixilated configuration. Here, separate spatial regionsperform conversion to red, green, and blue light. As shown in FIG. 61,five LEDs are arranged in an array configured to pump phosphormaterials. Single-color phosphor materials in different colors absorbradiation emitted by the LEDs and re-emit light in a color associatedwith the phosphor material. The phosphor materials are arranged in apixelated fashion over the LEDs. The pixelated pattern is specificallycreated to create a mix of emissions whose combination produces lightthat is substantially white in color.

In some embodiments, the LEDs emit radiation in substantially the samecolor (e.g., about 405 nm to 430 nm in wavelength), and the radiationfrom the LEDs pumps the single-color phosphor materials that are indifferent spatial locations. In return, the colored phosphor materialsemit colored light. For example, the phosphor materials, as shown inFIG. 61, emit respectively red, green, and blue light. In theconfiguration shown in FIG. 61, the type of pump LEDs and/or thephosphors can be varied across the array based on the color needed andthe type of LEDs used.

FIG. 62 illustrates an embodiment of the disclosure 6200 where the pumpLEDs are arranged in an array, and two LED emission wavelengths areemployed. Short-wavelength LEDs (about 405 nm to 430 nm) pump red andgreen phosphors, while longer-wavelength LEDs (440 nm to 460 nm) emitblue light. As shown in FIG. 62, five LED devices form an LED arraypositioned on a substrate or submount. More specifically, the LED devicein the middle emits blue light (e.g., wavelength of about 440 nm to 460nm), while the other LED devices emit radiation in substantially theviolet wavelength range (e.g., about 405 nm to 430 nm). The violet LEDdevices are disposed in colored phosphor materials, where the LEDdevices pump the phosphor material which emits a colored light, e.g.,red light. Similarly, the green phosphor material, upon absorbingsubstantially violet radiation, emits green light. The blue LED deviceis not disposed within a phosphor material, and as a result the bluelight generated by the blue LED devices is emitted directly.

Depending on the application, the LEDs can be arranged in array geometryusing several pump LEDs in combination with blue or red LEDs that arenot configured to pump phosphor material. It is to be appreciated thatthe arrangement of LEDs as shown in FIG. 62 can help reduce lightabsorption. For example, inter-die absorption is reduced at about 405 nmto 430 nm relative to 400 nm because of the lower substrate absorption,which is an additional advantage of using a longer wavelength pump LED.

FIG. 63A is a diagram 6300 illustrating the emission spectrum of atwo-phosphor violet pumped white LED. In this example, a cyan phosphorG1758™ and an orange phosphor O6040™ from Intematix Corp. are combinedand pumped by about 420 nm emitting LED. It is to be appreciated thatother types of cyan and orange phosphor can be used as well. Otherphosphor combinations and other choices of a pump emission wavelength insuch a configuration are possible. In the table shown in FIG. 63B, theviolet pump LED leakage is varied ±20% relative to an absolute level of5% leakage. For all three cases, the color rendering index (CRI) is atabout 83 at a CCT of approximately 2700K. The variation in chromaticitybetween the three spectra is very small, with the total deviation fromthe Planckian at less than 0.004 in terms of u′v′. The lumen equivalentis at about 301-305 lm/Wopt. One of the benefits is that theconfiguration uses long wavelength pump chips (e.g., in this case 420nm), which increases light extraction efficiency and package efficiency,and reduces forward voltage and Stokes loss as compared to shorterwavelength pump LEDs. In addition, by avoiding blue phosphor, thisconfiguration removes one component in loss in efficiency, reducesoverall phosphor loading, and reduces cost and complexity.

In certain embodiments, LED devices provided by the present disclosureuse the structures and techniques as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.8,293,551 B2 and in U.S. Application Publication No. 2011/0186874 A1,each of which are incorporated by reference in its entirety. Thefollowing examples describe in detail methods and example apparatus ofconstituent elements of the herein-disclosed embodiments. It will beapparent to those skilled in the art that many modifications, both tomaterials and methods, may be practiced without departing from the scopeof the disclosure.

An exemplary fabrication flow can proceed as follows:

-   -   Obtain a GaN-containing substrate.    -   Place the substrate in a MOCVD reactor and grow an LED        comprising an n-type layer, an active region and a p-type layer,        the LED being configured to emit light in the wavelength range        390-430 nm.    -   Form an LED die by using conventional semiconductor fabrication        techniques, including lithography and n- and p-contact        deposition.    -   Singulate the LED into a die of triangular shape, the above        fabrication process resulting in an LED die with an EQE of at        least 45% at an ambient temperature of 25° C. and a current        density of 200 A/cm².    -   Obtain a submount substrate such as silicon.    -   Deposit a high reflectivity mirror on the submount, the mirror        containing for instance Ag, Al or dielectric layers and having a        reflectivity higher than 90%.    -   Deposit conducting metallic traces on the submount, the traces        configured such that dies can be attached to the submount and        driven with electrical current.    -   Attach several LED dies in an array on the submount.    -   Place a dam material around the LED die array.    -   Prepare a mix of wavelength-converting materials and silicone.    -   Fill the dam material with said mix, such that the resulting        element emits a white light spectrum with desired        characteristics (such as CCT, chromaticity, CRI, R9, amount of        violet content in the spectrum, and other aspects of quality of        light).    -   Attach the resulting white-light emitting array to a lamp        heatsink.    -   Attach an optical element such as a lens to the heatsink.    -   Connect the white-light emitting array to an electrical driver.        This results in a white-light emitting LED lamp with desired        quality of light properties.

Embodiment 1

An LED lamp comprising an LED device emitting more than 500 lm, and forwhich more than 2% of the power in the SPD is emitted within the rangeof about 390 nm to about 430 nm. A lamp in this (and other) embodimentscan be obtained by these approaches: (i) use violet pump LEDs only, (ii)add violet LEDs to a blue-pump based system, or (iii) or a combinationof blue and violet pump LEDs.

Embodiment 2

The lamp of embodiment 1, wherein more than 5% of power in the SPD isemitted within the range about 390 nm to about 430 nm.

Embodiment 3

The lamp of embodiment 1, wherein less than 1% of power in the SPD isemitted below 400 nm.

Embodiment 4

The lamp of embodiment 1, wherein the beam angle is narrower than 15°and the center-beam candle power is greater than 15000 cd.

Embodiment 5

The lamp of embodiment 1, emitting at least 1500 lm.

Embodiment 6

The lamp of embodiment 1, further comprising an MR16 form factor.

Embodiment 7

The lamp of embodiment 1, wherein an output facet of the lamp has adiameter of about 121 mm.

Embodiment 8

The lamp of embodiment 1, further comprising a PAR30 lamp form factor.

Embodiment 9

The lamp of embodiment 1, wherein at least part of power in the SPD isprovided by at least one violet-emitting LED.

Embodiment 10

The lamp of embodiment 9, wherein the at least one violet-emitting LEDemits more than 200 W/cm² at a current density of 200 A/cm² at ajunction temperature of 100° C. or greater. In certain embodiments, thejunction temperature is from 85° C. to 120° C.

Embodiment 11

The lamp of embodiment 9, wherein the at least one violet-emitting LEDpumps at least a blue or cyan phosphor. In certain embodiments, thewavelength conversion material is configured to provide a CRI of atleast 90. In certain embodiments, the wavelength conversion materialcomprises a combination of phosphors such as three phosphors, fourphosphors, five phosphors or more than five phosphors.

Embodiment 12

The lamp of embodiment 9, wherein the at least one violet-emitting LEDpumps more than one blue/cyan phosphors.

Embodiment 13

The lamp of embodiment 9: further comprising at least one LED emittingat wavelengths other than the violet-emitting LED. The lamp ofembodiment 1, wherein the SWSD for a source with a CCT in the range2500K-7000K is less than 35%.

Embodiment 14

The lamp of embodiment 1, wherein the SWSD for a source with a CCT inthe range 5000K-7000K is less than 35%.

Embodiment 15

The lamp of embodiment 1, wherein the violet leak is lower than 10%.

Embodiment 16

The lamp of embodiment 1, wherein the CIE whiteness of a typical whitepaper is improved by at least 5 points, over a similar lamp which wouldhave no significant SPD component in the range about 390 nm to about 430nm.

Embodiment 17

The lamp of embodiment 1, wherein the violet leak is configured toachieve a particular CIE whiteness value.

Embodiment 18

The lamp of embodiment 1, wherein the violet leak is such that a CIEwhiteness of a high-whiteness reference sample illuminated by the lampis within minus 20 points and plus 40 points of a CIE whiteness of thesame sample under illumination by a CIE reference illuminant of same CCT(respectively a blackbody radiator if CCT<5000K or a D illuminant ifCCT>5000K).

Embodiment 19

The lamp of embodiment 1, wherein the violet leak is such that aCCT-corrected whiteness of a high-whiteness reference object illuminatedby the lamp is within minus 20 points and plus 40 points of aCCT-corrected whiteness of the same object under illumination by a CIEreference illuminant of same CCT (respectively a blackbody radiator ifCCT<5000K or a D illuminant if CCT>5000K).

Embodiment 20

The lamp of embodiment 1, wherein the violet leak is such that a (u′v′)chromaticity shift with respect to the source's white point of ahigh-whiteness reference sample illuminated by the lamp, when comparedto a chromaticity shift of the same sample under illumination by a CIEreference illuminant of same CCT (respectively a blackbody radiator ifCCT<5000K or a D illuminant if CCT>5000K) is (i) substantially in thesame direction; and (ii) at least of a similar magnitude.

Embodiment 21

The lamp of embodiment 1, wherein part of the blue light is provided byLEDs.

Embodiment 22

The lamp of embodiment 1, wherein a beam angle is narrower than 25° anda center-beam candle power is higher than 2200 cd.

Embodiment 23

The lamp of embodiment 1, wherein the lamp is an MR-16 form factor.

Embodiment 24

The lamp of embodiment 1, wherein a CRI for a source with a CCT in therange about 2500K to about 7000K is more than 90.

Embodiment 25

The lamp of embodiment 1, wherein a CRI for a source with a CCT in therange about 5000K to about 7000K is more than 90.

Embodiment 26

The lamp of embodiment 1, wherein a R9 is more than 80.

Embodiment 27

The lamp of embodiment 1, wherein a large-sample set CRI is more than80.

Embodiment 28

An LED-based lamp emitting more than 500 lm, comprising one or more LEDsource die having a base area of less than 40 mm².

Embodiment 29

The lamp of embodiment 29, wherein more than 2% of the power in the SPDis emitted within the range about 390 nm to about 430 nm. In certainembodiments, from 1% to 4% of the power in the SPD is emitted within therange from about 390 nm to about 430 nm.

Embodiment 30

The lamp of embodiment 29, wherein the lamp is an MR-16 form factor.

Embodiment 31

The lamp of embodiment 29, wherein the diameter of the optical lens isless than 51 mm.

Embodiment 32

The lamp of embodiment 29, wherein the partial shadow angular width isless than 1°.

Embodiment 33

The lamp of embodiment 29, wherein the chromaticity variation Duv isless than 8, for two points in the partial shadow region.

Embodiment 34

The lamp of embodiment 29, wherein the chromaticity variation Duv of thebeam is less than 8 between the center of the emitted beam, and a pointwith 10% intensity.

Embodiment 35

A light source comprising LEDs, for which at least 2% of the SPD is inthe range about 390 nm to about 430 nm, and such that a CIE whiteness ofa high-whiteness reference sample illuminated by the light source iswithin minus 20 points and plus 40 points of a CIE whiteness of the samesample under illumination by a CIE reference illuminant of same CCT(respectively a blackbody radiator if CCT<5000K or a D illuminant ifCCT>5000K).

Embodiment 36

The light source of embodiment 36, wherein a CIE whiteness of ahigh-whiteness reference sample illuminated by the light source is atmost 200% of a CIE whiteness of the same sample under illumination by aCIE reference illuminant of same CCT (respectively a blackbody radiatorif CCT<5000K or a D illuminant if CCT>5000K).

Embodiment 37

A light source comprising LEDs, for which at least 2% of the SPD is inthe range 390-430 nm, and such that a CIE whiteness of a high-whitenessreference sample illuminated by the light source is within minus 20points to plus 40 points of a CIE whiteness of the same sample underillumination by a CIE reference illuminant of same CCT (respectively ablackbody radiator if CCT<5000K or a D illuminant if CCT>5000K).

Embodiment 38

A light source comprising LEDs, for which at least 2% of the SPD is inthe range 390 nm to 430 nm, and such that a CIE whiteness of ahigh-whiteness reference sample illuminated by the light source iswithin minus 20 points to plus 40 points of a CIE whiteness of the samesample under illumination by a ceramic metal halide illuminant of sameCCT.

Embodiment 39

The light source of embodiment 38, wherein a CCT-corrected whiteness ofa high-whiteness reference sample illuminated by the light source is atmost 200% of a CCT-corrected whiteness of the same sample underillumination by a CIE reference illuminant of same CCT (respectively ablackbody radiator if CCT<5000K or a D illuminant if CCT>5000K).

Embodiment 40

A light source comprising LEDs, for which at least 2% of the SPD is inthe range 390-430 nm, and such that a chromaticity of a high-whitenessreference sample illuminated by the source is at least two Duv pointsand at most twelve Duv points away from a chromaticity of the source'swhite point, and substantially toward the blue direction.

Embodiment 41

A light source comprising LEDs, for which at least 2% of the SPD is inthe range 390 nm to 430 nm, and such that a chromaticity of a commercialwhite paper with a CIE whiteness of at least 130, illuminated by thesource, is at least two Duv points away from a chromaticity of thesource's white point, and toward the blue direction.

Embodiment 42

A method comprising: selecting an object containing OBAs; measuring anoptical excitation of the OBAs under a light source which contains noLEDs; and producing a light source comprising LEDs, for which at least2% of the SPD is in the range 390-430 nm, and such that an opticalexcitation of the OBAs under the LED light source is at least 50% of theoptical excitation of OBAs under the light source which contains noLEDs.

Embodiment 43

The method of embodiment 42, wherein the light source which contains noLEDs is either a halogen or ceramic metal halide source.

Embodiment 44

A method comprising: selecting an object containing OBAs; measuring achromaticity of the object under a light source which contains no LEDs,called reference chromaticity; and producing a light source comprisingLEDs, for which at least 2% of the SPD is in the range 390 nm to 430 nm,and such that a chromaticity of the object under the LED light source iswithin 5 Duv points of the reference chromaticity.

Embodiment 45

The method of embodiment 44, wherein the light source which contains noLEDs is either a halogen or ceramic metal halide (CMH) source.

Embodiment 46

A light source comprising LEDs, for which at least 2% of the SPD is inthe range 390-430 nm, and such that a using CCT-corrected whiteness of ahigh-whiteness reference sample illuminated by the light source iswithin minus 20 points to plus 40 points of a CCT-corrected whiteness ofthe same sample under illumination by a CIE reference illuminant of sameCCT-corrected whiteness value.

Embodiment 47

The lamp of embodiment 1, having a gamut area Qg of more than 110.

Embodiment 48

The lamp of embodiment 1, having a gamut area Qg of more than 110, andhaving more than 5% of the power in the SPD emitted within the range ofabout 390 nm to 430 nm.

Embodiment 49

The lamp of embodiment 1, having a gamut area Qg of more than 110 andincluding at least one violet-emitting LED.

Embodiment 50

The lamp of embodiment 1, having a gamut area Qg of more than 110 andincluding at least one violet-emitting LED and another LED emitting atanother wavelength.

Embodiment 51

The lamp of embodiment 1, having a gamut area Qg of more than 110 and acolor fidelity Qf of more than 80.

Embodiment 52

The lamp of embodiment 1, having a gamut area Qg of more than 110 and adeep-red rendering R9 of more than 50.

Embodiment 53

The lamp of embodiment 1, having a gamut area Qg of more than 110, thesource's chromaticity being within Duv=3 points of the Planckian locus.

Embodiment 54

The lamp of embodiment 1, having a gamut area Qg of more than 110, thesource's chromaticity being below the Planckian locus and within Duv=30points of the Planckian locus.

Embodiment 55

The lamp of embodiment 1, having a gamut area Qg of more than 110 and aCCT between 1900K and 3300K.

Embodiment 56

The lamp of embodiment 1, having a gamut area Qg of more than 110 and aCCT between 3900K and 5100K.

Embodiment 57

The lamp of embodiment 1, having a gamut area Qg of more than 110, andsubstantially enhancing the saturation of red colors (i.e., increasingthe saturation of the CQS red color sample VS1 by at least 3 points vs.the reference illuminant at the same CCT).

Embodiment 58

The lamp of embodiment 1, having a gamut area Qg of more than 110, andsubstantially enhancing the saturation of Caucasian skin colors (i.e.,increasing the saturation of a variety of Caucasian skins by at least 5%vs. the reference illuminant at the same CCT).

Embodiment 59

The lamp of embodiment 1, having a tunable spectrum where the gamut areaQg can be tuned by at least 10 points and can reach a value of more than110.

Embodiment 60

The lamp of embodiment 1, having a CCT between 3300K and 5300K and a COIbelow 3.3.

Embodiment 61

The lamp of embodiment 1, having a CCT between 3300K and 5300K and a COIbelow 1.

Embodiment 62

A method including: specifying a metric pertaining to the chromaticityof a light source; and generating an LED-based lamp emitting more than500 lm, for which more than 2% of the power in the SPD is emitted withinthe range of about 390 nm to about 430 nm, and whose SPD satisfies saidmetric.

Embodiment 63

An LED lamp comprising an LED device emitting more than 5001 m; thelight being generated by a pump LED pumping at least two phosphors; theresulting light having a gamut area Qg of more than 110 andsubstantially enhancing the saturation of red colors (i.e., increasingthe saturation of the CQS red color sample VS1 by at least 3 points vs.the reference illuminant at the same CCT).

Embodiment 64

The lamp of embodiment 61, further comprising a filter which suppressesradiation at some wavelengths.

Embodiment 65

The lamp of embodiment 62, where the filter is a neodymium-doped glassfilter.

Embodiment 66

The lamp of embodiment 62, where the filter is a dichroic filter.

Embodiment 67

A light bulb having at least two LED sources, the LED sources havingdifferent spectra, the bulb having at least three electrodes, such thatupon driving current in the electrodes the several LED sources can bedriven in at least two configurations to emit two different spectra.

Embodiment 68

The light bulb of embodiment 67, where the bulb is a 3-way bulb.

Embodiment 69

The light bulb of embodiment 67, where the two sources have CCTs whichdiffer by at least 500K.

The lamp of embodiment 1, where the SPD is configured to have a ColorQuality Scale gamut metric Qg of 1.05 or higher.

The lamp of embodiment 1, where the SPD is configured to have a ColorQuality Scale gamut metric Qg in the range 1.10 to 1.40 and a ColorQuality Scale fidelity metric Qf of 60 or higher.

The lamp of embodiment 1, where the SPD is configured to substantiallyincrease a visual saturation of warm colors such as red, orange and pinkobjects vs. a conventional lamp with same correlated color temperature.

The lamp of embodiment 1, where the SPD is configured to modify asaturation of at least one of the following Color Quality Scale samples:VS1 (red), VS2 (red-orange), VS3 (orange), VS14 (red-pink), VS15 (pink);the saturation being increased by at least 5% vs. a conventional lampwith a same correlated color temperature.

The lamp of embodiment 1, where the SPD is configured such that themodified light pattern renders various Caucasian skins with a colordistortion which is substantially along the CIELAB b* direction, with anincrease in b* of at least 1 point.

The lamp of embodiment 1, where the SPD is configured such that themodified light pattern has a chromaticity lying below the Planckianlocus by a distance of at least 3 Du′v′ points.

FIG. 64A through FIG. 64I depict embodiments of the present disclosurein the form of lamp applications. In these lamp applications, one ormore light emitting diodes are used in lamps and fixtures. Such lampsand fixtures include replacement and/or retro-fit directional lightingfixtures.

In some embodiments, aspects of the present disclosure can be used in anassembly. As shown in FIG. 64A, the assembly comprises a screw cap 6428,a driver housing 6426, a driver board 6424, a heatsink 6422, ametal-core printed circuit board 6420, an LED light source 6418, a dustshield 6416, a lens 6414, a reflector disc 6412, a magnet 6410, a magnetcap 6408, a trim ring 6406, a first accessory 6404, and a secondaccessory 6402.

The components of assembly 64A00 may be described in substantial detail.Some components are ‘active components’ and some are ‘passive’components, and can be variously-described based on the particularcomponent's impact to the overall design, and/or impact(s) to theobjective optimization function. A component can be described using aCAD/CAM drawing or model, and the CAD/CAM model can be analyzed so as toextract figures of merit as may pertain to e particular component'simpact to the overall design, and/or impact(s) to the objectiveoptimization function. Strictly as one example, a CAD/CAM model of atrim ring is provided in a model corresponding to the drawing of FIG.64A.

The components of the assembly 64A00 can be fitted together to form alamp. FIG. 64B1 depicts a perspective view 6430 and FIG. 64B2 depicts atop view 6432 of such a lamp. As shown in FIGS. 64B1 and 64B2, the lamp64B00 comports to a form factor known as PAR30L. The PAR30L form factoris further depicted by the principal views (e.g., left 6440, right 6436,back 6434, front 6438 and top 6442) given in array 64C00 of FIG. 64C.

The components of the assembly 64A00 can be fitted together to form alamp. FIG. 64D1 depicts a perspective view 6444 and FIG. 64D2 depicts atop view 6446 of such a lamp. As shown in FIGS. 64D1 and 64D2, the lamp64D00 comports to a form factor known as PAR30S. The PAR30S form factoris further depicted by the principal views (e.g., left 6454, right 6450,back 6448, front 6452 and top 6456) given in array 64E00 of FIG. 64E.

The components of the assembly 64A00 can be fitted together to form alamp. FIG. 64F1 depicts a perspective view 6458 and FIG. 64F2 depicts atop view 6460 of such a lamp. As shown in FIGS. 64F1 and 64F2, the lamp64F00 comports to a form factor known as PAR38. The PAR38 form factor isfurther depicted by the principal views (e.g., left 6468, right 6464,back 6462, front 6466 and top 6470) given in array 64G00 of FIG. 64G.

The components of the assembly 64A00 can be fitted together to form alamp. FIG. 64H1 depicts a perspective view 6472 and FIG. 64H2 depicts atop view 6474 of such a lamp. As shown in FIGS. 64H1 and 64H2, the lamp64H00 comports to a form factor known as PAR111. The PAR111 form factoris further depicted by the principal views (e.g., left 6482, right 6478,back 6476, front 6480 and top 6484) given in array 64100 of FIG. 64I.

Another example is an MR-16 lamp. It contains an LED source comprisingviolet pump LEDs pumping three phosphors: a red-, a green- and ablue-emitting phosphor. The lamp emits more than 500 lm and has a CCT inthe range 2700K to 3000K. The diameter of the LED source is 6 mm and thediameter of the optical lens is 30 mm. The lamp has a beam angle of 25degrees and a center-beam candle power of at least 2200 candelas.

FIG. 65A1 through FIG. 65I depict embodiments of the present disclosureas can be applied toward lighting applications. In these embodiments,one or more light-emitting diodes 65A10 (FIG. 65A1), as taught by thisdisclosure, can be mounted on a submount or package to provide anelectrical interconnection. The submount or package can be a ceramic,oxide, nitride, semiconductor, metal, or combination thereof thatincludes an electrical interconnection capability 65A20 (FIG. 65A2) forthe various LEDs. The submount or package can be mounted to a heatsinkmember 65B50 (FIG. 65B2) via a thermal interface. The LEDs can beconfigured to produce a desired emission spectrum, either by mixingprimary emissions from various LEDs, or by having the LEDs photo-excitewavelength down-conversion materials such as phosphors, semiconductors,or semiconductor nanoparticles (“quantum dots”), or a combination of anyof the foregoing.

The total light emitting surface (LES) of the LEDs and anydown-conversion materials can form a light source 65A30 (FIG. 65A3). Oneor more light sources can be interconnected into an array 65B20 (FIG.65B1), which in turn is in electrical contact with connectors 65B10(FIG. 65B1) and brought into an assembly 65B30 (FIG. 65B1). One or morelens elements 65B40 (FIG. 65B2) can be optically coupled to the lightsource. The lens design and properties can be selected so that thedesired directional beam pattern for a lighting product is achieved fora given LES. The directional lighting product may be an LED module, aretrofit lamp 65B70 (FIG. 65B3), or a lighting fixture 65C30 (FIG.65C3). In the case of a retrofit lamp, an electronic driver can beprovided with a surrounding member 65B60 (FIG. 65B2), the driver tocondition electrical power from an external source to render it suitablefor the LED light source. The driver can be integrated into the retrofitlamp. In the case of a fixture, an electronic driver is provided whichconditions electrical power from an external source to make it suitablefor the LED light source, with the driver either integrated into thefixture or provided externally to the fixture. In the case of a module,an electronic driver can be provided to condition electrical power froman external source to render it suitable for the LED light source, withthe driver either integrated into the module or provided externally tothe module. Examples of suitable external power sources include mains AC(e.g., 120 Vrms AC or 240 Vrms AC), low-voltage AC (e.g., 12 VAC), andlow-voltage DC (e.g., 12 VDC). In the case of retrofit lamps, the entirelighting product may be designed to fit standard form factors (e.g.,ANSI form factors). Examples of retrofit lamp products include LED-basedMR16, PAR16, PAR20, PAR30, PAR38, BR30, A19, and various other lamptypes. Examples of fixtures include replacements for halogen-based andceramic metal halide-based directional lighting fixtures.

In some embodiments, the present disclosure can be applied tonon-directional lighting applications. In these embodiments, one or morelight-emitting diodes (LEDs), as taught by the disclosure, can bemounted on a submount or package to provide an electricalinterconnection. The submount or package can be, for example, a ceramic,oxide, nitride, semiconductor, metal, or combination of any of theforegoing that includes electrical interconnection capability for thevarious LEDs. The submount or package can be mounted to a heatsinkmember via a thermal interface. The LEDs can be configured to produce adesired emission spectrum, either by mixing primary emissions fromvarious LEDs, or by having the LEDs photo-excite wavelengthdown-conversion materials such as phosphors, semiconductors, orsemiconductor nanoparticles (“quantum dots”), or a combination thereof.The LEDs can be distributed to provide a desired shape of the lightsource. For example, one common shape is a linear light source forreplacement of conventional fluorescent linear tube lamps. One or moreoptical elements can be coupled to the LEDs to provide a desirednon-directional light distribution. The non-directional lighting productmay be an LED module, a retrofit lamp, or a lighting fixture. In thecase of a retrofit lamp, an electronic driver can be provided tocondition electrical power from an external source to render it suitablefor the LED light source, with the driver integrated into the retrofitlamp. In the case of a fixture, an electronic driver is provided tocondition electrical power from an external source to render it suitablefor the LED light source, with the driver either integrated into thefixture or provided externally to the fixture. In the case of a module,an electronic driver can be provided to condition electrical power froman external source to render it suitable for the LED light source, withthe driver either integrated into the module or provided externally tothe module. Examples of external power sources include mains AC (e.g.,120 Vrms AC or 240 Vrms AC), low-voltage AC (e.g., 12 VAC), andlow-voltage DC (e.g., 12 VDC). In the case of retrofit lamps, the entirelighting product may be designed to fit standard form factors (e.g.,ANSI form factors). Examples of retrofit lamp products include LED-basedreplacements for various linear, circular, or curved fluorescent lamps.An example of a non-directional lighting product is shown in FIGS.65C1-65C3. Such a lighting fixture can include replacements forfluorescent-based troffer luminaires. In this embodiment, LEDs aremechanically secured into a package 65C10 (FIG. 65C1), and multiplepackages are arranged into a suitable shape such as linear array 65C20(FIG. 65C2).

Some embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied tobacklighting for flat panel display applications. In these embodiments,one or more light-emitting diodes (LEDs), as taught by this disclosure,can be mounted on a submount or package to provide an electricalinterconnection. The submount or package can be a ceramic, oxide,nitride, semiconductor, metal, or combination of any of the foregoingthat include electrical interconnection capability for the various LEDs.The submount or package can be mounted to a heatsink member via athermal interface. The LEDs can be configured to produce a desiredemission spectrum, either by mixing primary emissions from various LEDs,or by having the LEDs photo-excite wavelength down-conversion materialssuch as phosphors, semiconductors, or semiconductor nanoparticles(“quantum dots”), or a combination of any of the foregoing. The LEDs canbe distributed to provide a desired shape of the light source. Onecommon shape is a linear light source. The light source can be opticallycoupled to a lightguide for the backlight. This can be achieved bycoupling at the edge of the lightguide (edge-lit), or by coupling lightfrom behind the lightguide (direct-lit). The lightguide distributeslight uniformly toward a controllable display such as a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD) panel. The display converts the LED light into desiredimages based on electrical control of light transmission and its color.One way to control the color is by use of filters (e.g., color filtersubstrate 65D40 (FIG. 65D1)). Alternatively, multiple LEDs may be usedand driven in pulsed mode to sequence the desired primary emissioncolors (e.g., using a red LED 65D30, a green LED 65D100 (FIG. 65D1), anda blue LED 65D200 (FIG. 65D2)). Optional brightness-enhancing films maybe included in the backlight “stack”. The brightness-enhancing filmsnarrow the flat panel display emission to increase brightness at theexpense of the observer viewing angle. An electronic driver can beprovided to condition electrical power from an external source to renderit suitable for the LED light source for backlighting, including anycolor sequencing or brightness variation per LED location (e.g.,one-dimensional or two-dimensional dimming). Examples of external powersources include mains AC (e.g., 120 Vrms AC or 240 Vrms AC), low-voltageAC (e.g., 12 VAC), and low-voltage DC (e.g., 12 VDC). Examples ofbacklighting products are shown in FIG. 65D1, FIG. 65D2, FIG. 65E, andFIG. 65E2.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to automotiveforward lighting applications, as shown in FIGS. 65F1-65F3 (e.g., seethe example of an automotive forward lighting product 65F30 (FIG.65F3)). In these embodiments, one or more light-emitting diodes (LEDs)can be mounted on a submount or on a rigid or semi-rigid package 65F10(FIG. 65F1) to provide an electrical interconnection. The submount orpackage can be a ceramic, oxide, nitride, semiconductor, metal, orcombination thereof, that include electrical interconnection capabilityfor the various LEDs. The submount or package can be mounted to aheatsink member via a thermal interface. The LEDs can be configured toproduce a desired emission spectrum, either by mixing primary emissionfrom various LEDs, or by having the LEDs photo-excite wavelengthdown-conversion materials such as phosphors, semiconductors, orsemiconductor nanoparticles (“quantum dots”), or a combination of any ofthe foregoing. The total light emitting surface (LES) of the LEDs andany down-conversion materials form a light source. One or more lenselements 65F20 (FIG. 65F2) can be optically coupled to the light source.The lens design and properties can be selected to produce a desireddirectional beam pattern for an automotive forward lighting applicationfor a given LED. An electronic driver can be provided to conditionelectrical power from an external source to render it suitable for theLED light source. Power sources for automotive applications includelow-voltage DC (e.g., 12 VDC). An LED light source may perform ahigh-beam function, a low-beam function, a side-beam function, or anycombination thereof.

In some embodiments the present disclosure can be applied to digitalimaging applications such as illumination for mobile phone and digitalstill cameras (e.g., see FIGS. 65G1-65G4). In these embodiments, one ormore light-emitting diodes (LEDs), as taught by the disclosure, can bemounted on a submount or package 65G10 (FIG. 65G1) to provide anelectrical interconnection. The submount or package can be, for example,a ceramic, oxide, nitride, semiconductor, metal, or combination of anyof the foregoing, that include electrical interconnection capability forthe various LEDs. The submount or package can be mounted to a circuitboard member and fitted with or into a mounting package 65G20 (FIG.65G2). The LEDs can be configured to produce a desired emissionspectrum, either by mixing primary emission from various LEDs, or byhaving the LEDs photo-excite wavelength down-conversion materials suchas phosphors, semiconductors, or semiconductor nanoparticles (“quantumdots”), or a combination thereof. The total light emitting surface (LES)of the LEDs and any down-conversion materials form a light source. Oneor more lens elements can be optically coupled to the light source. Thelens design and properties can be selected so that the desireddirectional beam pattern for an imaging application is achieved for agiven LES. An electronic driver can be provided to condition electricalpower from an external source to render it suitable for the LED lightsource. Examples of suitable external power sources for imagingapplications include low-voltage DC (e.g., 5 VDC). An LED light sourcemay perform a low-intensity function 65G30 (FIG. 65G3), a high-intensityfunction 65G40 (FIG. 65G4), or any combination thereof.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to mobileterminal applications. FIG. 65H is a diagram illustrating a mobileterminal (see smart phone architecture 65H00). As shown, the smart phone65H06 includes a housing, display screen, and interface device, whichmay include a button, microphone, and/or touch screen. In certainembodiments, a phone has a high resolution camera device, which can beused in various modes. An example of a smart phone can be an iPhone fromApple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. Alternatively, a smart phone can be aGalaxy from Samsung, or others.

In an example, the smart phone may include one or more of the followingfeatures (which are found in an iPhone 4 from Apple Inc., although therecan be variations), see www.apple.com:

-   -   GSM model: UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE        (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)    -   CDMA model: CDMA EV-DO Rev. A (800, 1900 MHz)    -   802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi (802.11n 2.4 GHz only)    -   Bluetooth 2.1+EDR wireless technology    -   Assisted GPS    -   Digital compass    -   Wi-Fi    -   Cellular    -   Retina display    -   3.5-inch (diagonal) widescreen multi-touch display    -   800:1 contrast ratio (typical)    -   500 cd/m2 max brightness (typical)    -   Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating on front and back    -   Support for display of multiple languages and characters        simultaneously    -   5-megapixel iSight camera    -   Video recording, HD (720p) up to 30 frames per second with audio    -   VGA-quality photos and video at up to 30 frames per second with        the front camera    -   Tap to focus video or still images    -   LED flash    -   Photo and video geotagging    -   Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery    -   Charging via USB to computer system or power adapter    -   Talk time: Up to 20 hours on 3G, up to 14 hours on 2G (GSM)    -   Standby time: Up to 300 hours    -   Internet use: Up to 6 hours on 3G, up to 10 hours on Wi-Fi    -   Video playback: Up to 10 hours    -   Audio playback: Up to 40 hours    -   Frequency response: 20 Hz to 22,000 Hz    -   Audio formats supported: AAC (8 to 320 Kbps), protected AAC        (from iTunes Store), HE-AAC, MP3 (8 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR,        audible (formats 2, 3, 4, audible enhanced audio, AAX, and        AAX+), Apple lossless, AIFF, and WAV    -   User-configurable maximum volume limit    -   Video out support with Apple digital AV adapter or Apple VGA        adapter; 576p and 480p with Apple component AV cable; 576i and        480i with Apple composite AV cable (cables sold separately)    -   Video formats supported: H.264 video up to 1080p, 30 frames per        second, main profile Level 3.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps,        48 kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats;        MPEG-4 video up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per        second, simple profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps per        channel, 48 kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file        formats; motion JPEG (M-JPEG) up to 35 Mbps, 1280 by 1020        pixels, 30 frames per second, audio in ulaw, PCM stereo audio in        .avi file format    -   Three-axis gyro    -   Accelerometer    -   Proximity sensor    -   Ambient light sensor    -   etcetera.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may be used with other electronicdevices. Examples of suitable electronic devices include a portableelectronic device such as a media player, a cellular phone, a personaldata organizer, or the like. In such embodiments, a portable electronicdevice may include a combination of the functionalities of such devices.In addition, an electronic device may allow a user to connect to andcommunicate through the Internet or through other networks such as localor wide area networks. For example, a portable electronic device mayallow a user to access the internet and to communicate using e-mail,text messaging, instant messaging, or using other forms of electroniccommunication. By way of example, the electronic device may be similarto an iPod having a display screen or an iPhone available from AppleInc.

In certain embodiments, a device may be powered by one or morerechargeable and/or replaceable batteries. Such embodiments may behighly portable, allowing a user to carry the electronic device whiletraveling, working, exercising, and so forth. In this manner, anddepending on the functionalities provided by the electronic device, auser may listen to music, play games or video, record video or takepictures, place and receive telephone calls, communicate with others,control other devices (e.g., via remote control and/or Bluetoothfunctionality), and so forth while moving freely with the device. Inaddition, the device may be sized such that it fits relatively easilyinto a pocket or the hand of the user. While certain embodiments of thepresent disclosure are described with respect to portable electronicdevices, it should be noted that the presently disclosed techniques maybe applicable to a wide array of other, less portable, electronicdevices and systems that are configured to render graphical data such asa desktop computer.

As shown, FIG. 65H includes a system diagram with a smart phone thatincludes an LED according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.The smart phone 65H06 is configured to communicate with a server 65H02in electronic communication with any forms of handheld electronicdevices. Illustrative examples of such handheld electronic devices caninclude functional components such as a processor 65H08, memory 65H10,graphics accelerator 65H12, accelerometer 65H14, communicationsinterface 65H11 (possibly including an antenna 65H16), compass 65H18,GPS chip 65H20, display screen 65H22, and an input device 65H24. Eachdevice is not limited to the illustrated components. The components maybe hardware, software or a combination of both.

In some examples, instructions can be input to the handheld electronicdevice through an input device 65H24 that instructs the processor 65H08to execute functions in an electronic imaging application. One potentialinstruction can be to generate an abstract of a captured image of aportion of a human user. In that case the processor 65H08 instructs thecommunications interface 65H11 to communicate with the server 65H02(e.g., possibly through or using a cloud 65H04) and transfer data (e.g.,image data). The data is transferred by the communications interface65H11 and either processed by the processor 65H08 immediately afterimage capture or stored in memory 65H10 for later use, or both. Theprocessor 65H08 also receives information regarding the display screen'sattributes, and can calculate the orientation of the device, e.g., usinginformation from an accelerometer 65H14 and/or other external data suchas compass headings from a compass 65H18, or GPS location from a GPSchip 65H20, and the processor then uses the information to determine anorientation in which to display the image depending upon the example.

The captured image can be rendered by the processor 65H08, by a graphicsaccelerator 65H12, or by a combination of the two. In some embodiments,the processor can be the graphics accelerator 65H12. The image can firstbe stored in memory 65H10 or, if available, the memory can be directlyassociated with the graphics accelerator 65H12. The methods describedherein can be implemented by the processor 65H08, the graphicsaccelerator 65H12, or a combination of the two to create the image andrelated abstract. An image or abstract can be displayed on the displayscreen 65H22.

FIG. 65I depicts an interconnection of components in an electronicdevice 65100. Examples of electronic devices include an enclosure orhousing, a display, user input structures, and input/output connectorsin addition to the aforementioned interconnection of components. Theenclosure may be formed from plastic, metal, composite materials, orother suitable materials, or any combination thereof. The enclosure mayprotect the interior components of the electronic device from physicaldamage, and may also shield the interior components from electromagneticinterference (EMI).

The display may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emittingdiode (LED) based display, an organic light emitting diode (OLED) baseddisplay, or some other suitable display. In accordance with certainembodiments of the present disclosure, the display may display a userinterface and various other images such as logos, avatars, photos, albumart, and the like. Additionally, in certain embodiments, a display mayinclude a touch screen through which a user may interact with the userinterface. The display may also include various functions and/or systemindicators to provide feedback to a user such as power status, callstatus, memory status, or the like. These indicators may be incorporatedinto the user interface displayed on the display.

In certain embodiments, one or more of the user input structures can beconfigured to control the device such as by controlling a mode ofoperation, an output level, an output type, etc. For instance, the userinput structures may include a button to turn the device on or off.Further, the user input structures may allow a user to interact with theuser interface on the display. Embodiments of the portable electronicdevice may include any number of user input structures includingbuttons, switches, a control pad, a scroll wheel, or any other suitableinput structures. The user input structures may work with the userinterface displayed on the device to control functions of the deviceand/or any interfaces or devices connected to or used by the device. Forexample, the user input structures may allow a user to navigate adisplayed user interface or to return such a displayed user interface toa default or home screen.

Certain device may also include various input and output ports to allowconnection of additional devices. For example, a port may be a headphonejack that provides for the connection of headphones. Additionally, aport may have both input and output capabilities to provide for theconnection of a headset (e.g., a headphone and microphone combination).Embodiments of the present disclosure may include any number of inputand/or output ports such as headphone and headset jacks, universalserial bus (USB) ports, IEEE-1394 ports, and AC and/or DC powerconnectors. Further, a device may use the input and output ports toconnect to and send or receive data with any other device such as otherportable electronic devices, personal computers, printers, or the like.For example, in one embodiment, the device may connect to a personalcomputer via an IEEE-1394 connection to send and receive data files suchas media files.

The depiction of an electronic device 65100 encompasses a smart phonesystem diagram according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Thedepiction of an electronic device 65100 illustrates computer hardware,software, and firmware that can be used to implement the disclosuresabove. The shown system includes a processor 65126, which isrepresentative of any number of physically and/or logically distinctresources capable of executing software, firmware, and hardwareconfigured to perform identified computations. A processor 65126communicates with a chipset 65128 that can control input to and outputfrom processor 65126. In this example, chipset 65128 outputs informationto display screen 65142 and can read and write information tonon-volatile storage 65144, which can include magnetic media and solidstate media, and/or other non-transitory media, for example. Chipset65128 can also read data from and write data to RAM 65146. A bridge65132 for interfacing with a variety of user interface components can beprovided for interfacing with chipset 65128. Such user interfacecomponents can include a keyboard 65134, a microphone 65136,touch-detection-and-processing circuitry 65138, a pointing device 65140such as a mouse, and so on. In general, inputs to the system can comefrom any of a variety of machine-generated and/or human-generatedsources.

Chipset 65128 also can interface with one or more data networkinterfaces 65130 that can have different physical interfaces. Such datanetwork interfaces 65130 can include interfaces for wired and wirelesslocal area networks, for broadband wireless networks, as well aspersonal area networks. Some applications of the methods for generating,displaying and using the GUI disclosed herein can include receiving dataover a physical interface 65131 or be generated by the machine itself bya processor 65126 analyzing data stored in non-volatile storage 65144and/or in memory or RAM 65146. Further, the machine can receive inputsfrom a user via devices such as a keyboard 65134, microphone 65136,touch-detection-and-processing circuitry 65138, and pointing device65140 and execute appropriate functions such as browsing functions byinterpreting these inputs using processor 65126.

Finally, it should be noted that there are alternative ways ofimplementing the embodiments disclosed herein. Accordingly, the presentembodiments are to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive,and the claims are not to be limited to the details given herein, butmay be modified within the scope and equivalents thereof.

What is claimed is:
 1. An illumination system comprising: at least oneLED device configured in a housing structure, wherein the at least oneLED device comprises an n-type region, a light-emitting active region,and a p-type region; a wavelength conversion material optically coupledto the at least one LED device; and a power source electrically coupledto the at least one LED device; wherein, the at least one LED device ischaracterized by an external quantum efficiency greater than 45%measured at an ambient temperature of 25° C. and at a current density of40 A/cm²; light is emitted by an interaction of electromagneticradiation emitted from the at least one LED device and the wavelengthconversion material; and light emitted by the illumination system ischaracterized by a spectral power distribution (SPD) in which thefraction of the SPD in the range from about 390 nm to about 430 nm isbetween 2% and 25%.
 2. The illumination system of claim 1, wherein theat least one LED device comprises a gallium and nitride-containingsubstrate.
 3. The illumination system of claim 1, wherein the at leastone LED is configured to emit electromagnetic radiation within ashort-wavelength range from about 390 nm to about 430 nm.
 4. Theillumination system of claim 1, wherein, the wavelength conversionmaterial comprises a blue phosphor and a green phosphor; and the greenphosphor is configured to absorb electromagnetic radiation emitted bythe blue phosphor.
 5. The illumination system of claim 1, comprising asecond LED device, wherein the second LED device is configured to emitelectromagnetic radiation within a blue wavelength range, within a greenwavelength range, or within a red wavelength range.
 6. The illuminationsystem of claim 1, comprising one or more luminaires and at least onelamp selected from a MR16 lamp, a PAR30 lamp, a AR111 lamp, an A-lamp,and a combination of any of the foregoing, wherein the at least one LEDis mounted in the at least one lamp.
 7. The illumination system of claim1, wherein, the SPD is configured to render a color or a white objectcomprising an optical brightening agent (OBA) to be substantially equalto a color of the white object under illumination by a referenceilluminant; and the SPD and the reference illuminant are characterizedby the same correlated color temperature (CCT).
 8. The illuminationsystem of claim 1, wherein, the SPD is configured to render a color of awhite object comprising an OBA to provide a first color difference and asecond color difference; the first color difference is the differencebetween a chromaticity of the object under illumination by the SPD and achromaticity of the SPD; the second color difference is the differencebetween a chromaticity of the object under illumination by a referenceilluminant characterized by a CCT as the SPD, and a chromaticity of thereference illuminant; the SPD and the reference illuminant arecharacterized by substantially the same CCT; and the first colordifference and the second color difference are within a predeterminedrange and are substantially equal in direction and magnitude in colorspace.
 9. The illumination system of claim 8, wherein, the white objectis a high whiteness reference object; each of the first color differenceand the second color differences is a Du′v′ color difference; and thepredetermined range is ±3 Du′v′ points.
 10. The illumination system ofclaim 1, wherein the SPD is characterized by a correlated colortemperature in the range from 2000K to 10000K and by a color renderingindex of at least
 90. 11. The illumination system of claim 1, whereinthe SPD is configured to have a color quality scale gamut metric Qg ofat least 1.05.
 12. The illumination system of claim 1, wherein the SPDis configured to provide a CRI of at least
 90. 13. The illuminationsystem of claim 1, wherein the illumination system is characterized by ashort wavelength SPD discrepancy less than 0.5.
 14. The illuminationsystem of claim 1, wherein the illumination system is configured to havea color quality scale gamut metric of at least 1.05 and a CRI of atleast
 90. 15. The illumination system of claim 1, further comprising atleast one second LED device.
 16. An illumination system comprising: atleast one LED device configured in a housing structure, wherein the atleast one LED device comprises an n-type region, a light-emitting activeregion, and a p-type region; a wavelength conversion material opticallycoupled to the at least one LED device; and a power source electricallycoupled to the at least one LED device; wherein, the at least one LEDdevice is characterized by an external quantum efficiency greater than45% measured at an ambient temperature of 25° C. and at a currentdensity of 40 A/cm²; and light emitted by the illumination system ischaracterized by a spectral power distribution (SPD) in which thefraction of the SPD in the range from about 390 nm to about 430 nm isbetween 2% and 15%.
 17. The illumination system of claim 16, wherein theat least one LED device comprises a gallium and nitride-containingsubstrate.
 18. The illumination system of claim 16, wherein the at leastone LED is configured to emit electromagnetic radiation within ashort-wavelength range from about 390 nm to about 430 nm.
 19. Theillumination system of claim 16, wherein, the wavelength conversionmaterial comprises a blue phosphor and a green phosphor; and the greenphosphor is configured to absorb electromagnetic radiation emitted bythe blue phosphor.
 20. The illumination system of claim 16, comprising asecond LED device, wherein the second LED device is configured to emitelectromagnetic radiation within a blue wavelength range, within a greenwavelength range, or within a red wavelength range.
 21. The illuminationsystem of claim 16, comprising one or more luminaires and at least onelamp selected from a MR16 lamp, a PAR30 lamp, a AR111 lamp, an A-lamp,and a combination of any of the foregoing, wherein the at least one LEDis mounted in the at least one lamp.
 22. The illumination system ofclaim 16, wherein, the SPD is configured to render a color or a whiteobject comprising an optical brightening agent (OBA) to be substantiallyequal to a color of the white object under illumination by a referenceilluminant; and the SPD and the reference illuminant are characterizedby the same correlated color temperature (CCT).
 23. The illuminationsystem of claim 16, wherein, the SPD is configured to render a color ofa white object comprising an OBA to provide a first color difference anda second color difference; the first color difference is the differencebetween a chromaticity of the object under illumination by the SPD and achromaticity of the SPD; the second color difference is the differencebetween a chromaticity of the object under illumination by a referenceilluminant characterized by a CCT as the SPD, and a chromaticity of thereference illuminant; the SPD and the reference illuminant arecharacterized by substantially the same CCT; and the first colordifference and the second color difference are within a predeterminedrange and are substantially equal in direction and magnitude in colorspace.
 24. The illumination system of claim 23, wherein, the whiteobject is a high whiteness reference object; each of the first colordifference and the second color differences is a Du′v′ color difference;and the predetermined range is ±3 Du′v′ points.
 25. The illuminationsystem of claim 16, wherein the SPD is characterized by a correlatedcolor temperature in the range from 2000K to 10000K and by a colorrendering index of at least
 90. 26. The illumination system of claim 16,wherein the SPD is configured to have a color quality scale gamut metricQg of at least 1.05.
 27. The illumination system of claim 16, whereinthe SPD is configured to provide a CRI of at least
 90. 28. Theillumination system of claim 16, wherein the illumination system ischaracterized by a short wavelength SPD discrepancy less than 0.5. 29.The illumination system of claim 16, wherein the illumination system isconfigured to have a color quality scale gamut metric of at least 1.05and a CRI of at least
 90. 30. The illumination system of claim 16,further comprising at least one second LED device.